"This is past belief!" Don Diego cried.
"Some nights ago Señor Zorro was at the Pulido hacienda. Warning was fetched the comandante by a native who is loyal. Don Carlos aided the bandit in tricking the soldiers, hid him in a closet, and when Captain Ramón was there alone, this highwayman stepped from the closet and attacked him treacherously and wounded him."
"By the saints!"
"And while you were gone and the Pulidos were your house guests, señor, Señor Zorro was in your house, speaking to the señorita, when the comandante walked in upon them. And the señorita grasped Captain Ramón by the arm and annoyed him until this Señor Zorro had made good his escape!"
"It is past comprehension!" Don Diego exclaimed.
"Captain Ramón has placed before me a hundred such items of suspicion. Can you wonder now that I had them placed in carcel? Did I merely have them put under arrest, this Señor Zorro would combine forces with them and aid them to escape."
"And your intentions, excellency?"
"I shall keep them in carcel while my troopers run down this highwayman. I shall force him to confess and implicate them—and then they shall have a trial."
"These turbulent times!" Don Diego complained.