“By my naked blade!” Barbados swore.
“He is doubly a traitor!” the woman screeched. “I would not trust him. Make ready to fight the soldiers. Do not be caught in a trap. The man at the stake can wait. It will not hurt him to be bound there and meditate for a time.”
Barbados suddenly seemed convinced. He began shouting his commands, and Sanchez echoed them as usual.
Men also ran to get horses and weapons.
“Catch me in a trap, eh?” Barbados cried. “I can arrange a trap myself, and not in the cañon!”
He rushed away, shrieking more orders. Don Audre Ruiz, fastened to the stake, was forgotten for the moment. Fray Felipe approached him.
“It was the only way, caballero,” the gentle fray said. “It would have been far better to have let the traitor wipe out these rogues entirely, but I had to save your life. And the soldiers will triumph when they come. Right is on their side and fights with them. Also Señor Zorro is at liberty!”
“Loose me, fray!”
“I cannot, señor. There is one chain that is too strong for me. But they have forgotten you now. I’ll search for some tool with which I can remove the chain. The ropes and the leather thongs will be easy.”
Fray Felipe bowed his head and shuffled away. Don Audre Ruiz remained lashed to the stake.