We're on chapter ten of twelve, so time for you to vote on what you'd like to see me liveblog next. I have Zorro Rides Again, which is set in present-day (1930s) Mexico and has a descendant of Zorro taking up the mask to help build a railroad. There's also Zorro's Black Whip, set in 1890s Idaho, and the baddies want to stop Idaho from becoming a state. There's a bit of a twist I won't spoil here if you haven't heard it. And last, I have the short movie The Bold Caballero, which features the original Zorro in Alta California, but severely twists the usual plotline.
Or would you like me to take on something entirely different?
Chapter Ten: Mystery Wagon
Quick recap, no new info.
Flash back to Gonzalez trying to avoid being accused of being Don del Oro, which leads to Diego Vega having to admit he has "met" Zorro and shared information, including Manuel's last words.
Tarmac narrowly misses Diego, hitting a mirror just behind him. (I think we're supposed to believe the mirror image confused Tarmac and threw his aim off.) Realizing his error, the Yaqui chief runs for it. Inside the council chamber, the NPC members examine the golden arrow. Tarmac pushes down a guard and meets up with the mariachi and another tough.
They hustle Tarmac into the tank of a water wagon. (The side swings up.) By the time Ramon and Diego arrive, Tarmac is already out of sight.
The wagon driver claims to have seen no one, and is taking this tank of water to the mine. When Diego tries to look inside, the just-arrived Gonzalez claims that won't be necessary as Garcia (the driver) has worked for him for years and is trustworthy. He even turns a tap to prove there's water in the tank.
Magistrate Pablo calls off the search so that Diego can finish telling what he knows. Diego's not doing that while an assassin is still on the loose! Besides, he claims, all Manuel told Zorro is that Don del Oro isn't an Indian.
Diego is pretty sure Tarmac was in the water wagon. It didn't sound full when he knocked on it, and Gonzalez endorsing the driver's trustworthiness is itself suspicious. They decide to head to the mine.
When Diego and Ramon arrive at the mine, they're spotted by a tough who hides quickly. A mine guard tells Diego that Garcia never arrived, and all his water wagon trips are made in the daytime anyway. Our heroes backtrack to see if they can find the wagon's actual destination.
The tough we saw earlier (Rico) and another are ordered to ambush and capture Diego and Ramon before they get back to town.
The ambush goes fairly well until one of the toughs gets too interested in Diego's snuff box and gets a faceful of tobacco powder. In the ensuing scuffle, Rico accidentally knifes the other thug in the back. Panicked, he rides off.
Ramon and Diego decide to put off the wagon hunt until morning and follow Rico.
The wagon, as it happens, is at Don del Oro's new hideout, offloading small gunpowder barrels. Moreno reports to his masked boss that Rico was sent after Diego and Ramon. It seems that Don del Oro has found a new way to smuggle guns into the country, as only the rifles themselves remain to be shipped. The false god tells Tarmac that when he is Emperor of Mexico, the Yaqui will be free to enjoy their ancestral lands.
Tarmac doesn't point out that the "white men" to be driven out would logically include Moreno and his toughs—I'm not sure what line of bull Don del Oro fed him to explain them.
Rico comes in and lies that his targets killed "Martin" and escaped. Moreno suggests delaying the arms smuggling, but Don del Oro will brook no delay.
The next morning at the plaza, Diego and Ramon (having evidently lost Rico's track the night before) are able to get a look at the unattended water wagon. The actual water tank inside is small, and the rest of the space is used to smuggle people and supplies out of San Mendolito! The pair then spot some of the toughs entering the Hernandez Armeria. Ramon is sent to fetch the Legion to watch the roads, while Zorro investigates the armory.
The Legion gathers while their theme song plays.
In the armory, Tomas, a Yaqui and the toughs hurriedly gather rifles for transport. Zorro uses his whip to once again enter by a second-story window. He traps Tomas and another tough in the basement, but they hurry to climb out the nearby well shaft.
They and a third tough then try to flank Zorro, but he's ready for them, and as with the last armory fight, it appears these are the less effective Mooks.
When he tries attacking the wagon itself, however, the Yaqui puts up enough of a fight that a lucky blow to the back of the head knocks Zorro for a loop. Since a military patrol is approaching, the toughs hide Zorro inside the water wagon, and blame the unconscious Yaqui for the scuffle, claiming he'd tried to rob the armory. The soldiers arrest the Indian.
Outside of twon, the toughs escort the wagon, and are pursued by the Legion. The toughs fight a holding action, but Ramon, Juan and one more are able to slip by to chase the wagon. They shoot the driver.
Inside the wagon, Zorro groggily comes to.
The horses slip the traces on a treacherous curve, and the wagon plunges over a cliff into the water below, dooming Zorro!
Be back next week for Chapter Eleven: Face to Face!
