A Deal With the Devil
This episode was written by Suzanne Herrera and directed by Ray Austin.
(The Plaza. A uniformed man arrives in the plaza with his entourage. Mendoza prepares to meet him.)
Palomarez: (To Mendoza.) I am Colonel Mephisto Palomarez of the Royal Spanish Army (to his men) and they call this a soldier. Pitiful. Where is your Commandant?
Mendoza: Er…at his office. It is lunchtime.
Palomarez: Get him.
Mendoza: You just don’t get the alcalde.
Palomarez: Now.
(Mendoza leaves)
(Alcalde’s office)
Mendoza: Alcalde, there’s a Colonel Palomarez out there with some men. They look more like conquistadores. They don’t look friendly.
Ramon: I don’t believe it. (He goes to the door to see.) Palomarez! They called him the butcher during the Yucatan campaign. He’s the ultimate soldier. Expert swordsman. I wish I had more time to prepare a proper welcome. Ah, Colonel Palomarez, this is indeed an honor.
Palomarez: Word of your problems with that rebel bandit, Zorro, has reached Madrid. I am here to eliminate him.
Ramon: Begging your pardon, Colonel, Zorro is no ordinary bandit. The people have taken him into their hearts. They thwart my every effort.
Palomarez: Effort? I am here for results. The King of Spain orders the arrest and execution of the man known as Zorro.
Boy: You’ll never catch Zorro.
Palomarez: You’re quite wrong about that. (Palomarez makes a signal and his soldier slugs the boy. The crowd gasps.) By sunset, I want the name of every person living in this pueblo.
Ramon: Why? What for?
Palomarez: There will be a lottery at midnight to determine who will hang at sunrise in the place of Zorro.
Ramon: Colonel, you can’t just go around executing people without good reason!
Palomarez: Perhaps I have not made myself clear. Henceforth, one of your citizens will die every day until Zorro is delivered to me.
(The tavern.)
Palomarez: Clear the tavern.
Victoria: Let her go! Stop it! All I want is a book. You are throwing out paying customers.
Palomarez: My men and I prefer privacy in our accommodations. (Ramon enters.)
Ramon: What’s going on in here?
Palomarez: My men need their rest and some privacy.
Ramon: Colonel, this tavern is the only public place in all of Los Angeles. To close it to the public would mean —
Palomarez: Absolutely nothing to me. Now stand aside and allow us to get on with our work.
Ramon: Colonel, I really must insist —
Palomarez: You still don’t understand. Until further notice, this is my pueblo. (Ramon leaves.) Clear the tavern!
(Mendoza leads Victoria into the kitchen away from the chaos. He backs into a meat cleaver on the counter as Diego enters.)
Diego: Careful Sergeant, that’s sharp.
Mendoza: What are you doing here, Don Diego?
Diego: Well, I saw the glorious Colonel and his men approaching and I thought that discretion might be the better part of valor. It certainly would have been for the alcalde.
Victoria: And what is the alcalde going to do about Palomarez?
Mendoza: What can he do? Palomarez is a colonel under orders from the King.
Victoria: So we are just going to let
a madman take control of the pueblo?
Mendoza: Believe me, the alcalde would like nothing better than to have
Palomarez gone. But until Zorro’s captured, what can he do?
(Later)
Ramon: Colonel, I beg you to reconsider.
Palomarez: Sniveling will not bring me Zorro.
Ramon: But summary executions! Not even I would conceive of such a thing.
Palomarez: It is brilliant in its simplicity. I’m here to draw the name of the individual that will face the gallows at sunrise. \
Victoria: This is not justice. This is murder.
Palomarez: Bring Zorro to me before dawn, and only he will face the hangman’s noose.
Diego: Señor?
Mendoza: Careful, Diego.
Palomarez: Do you have particular knowledge of Zorro, Señor?
Diego: Zorro is a very difficult man to know. We have always been protected by his secret identity. It has kept us safe from the excesses of the military.
Victoria: It’s true. We do not know who he is or where he is. So your threats of violence will not help you find him.
Palomarez: I certainly think it’s worth a try. (He draws a name from the bowl.) The first person to die under the curse of Zorro is Sergeant Jaime Mendoza.
(Mendoza swoons.)
Ramon: You can’t be serious. Military personnel should not be included in this.
Palomarez: But they are, Señor. Even your name is in the bowl.
Ramon: What?
Palomarez: Persist with your interference and your name will be the only one in the bowl. Take him! (The soldiers grab Mendoza.)
Ramon: I’m sorry, Sergeant.
Victoria: Zorro should have shown himself by now.
Diego: Don’t worry. Zorro will help somehow.
Ramon: Unless he’s learned what we already know.
Diego: What’s that, Alcalde?
Ramon: That Colonel Palomarez is a man with no mercy.
(Much later that night. Palomarez is alone at a table.)
Palomarez: Zorro!
Zorro: Shh.
Palomarez: Guards! (Zorro presses his sword against his throat so the call is cut off.)
Zorro: Please. People are trying to sleep. Keep your voice down or your sleep could be longer than you’d like.
Palomarez: In the event of my death, I have given orders for my men to execute two people each day until you’re captured.
Zorro: I’m not here to take your life, Señor.
Palomarez: Prove it.
Zorro: Under certain conditions, I’m prepared to surrender. (Zorro sheathes his sword and both men smile.)
Palomarez: What are the conditions for your surrender?
Zorro: That you and I meet on the field of honor, man to man.
Palomarez: I’m a master swordsman. You wouldn’t dare challenge me.
Zorro: I would indeed, Señor.
Palomarez: I promise you an agonizing death.
Zorro: Justice for the people is not without its price.
Palomarez: Shall we say the plaza at sunrise?
Zorro: Sí. If I win, you and your men must leave Los Angeles.
Palomarez: And if you lose, then you die.
Zorro: In either case, innocent people will be kept from the gallows.
Palomarez: You are indeed a man of honor.
Zorro: Gracias, Señor.
Palomarez: And a fool. Guards! Guards! (Armed guards surround Zorro.) Put him behind bars. He hangs at sunrise.
(The Jail. Zorro is lead into a cell. He is smiling.)
Mendoza: Zorro? It can’t be true. Zorro, is it really you?
Zorro: Indeed it is, Sergeant. I hope my arrival didn’t awaken you.
Mendoza: Oh no, I couldn’t sleep anyway. You see, they’re going to hang me tomorrow. And only Zorro could save me and now you’re here. They’ll hang you.
Zorro: Excellent point, Sergeant. I really should do something about this, don’t you think?
Mendoza: Yes, of course, but what can you do?
(Outside)
Palomarez: We have Zorro. He’s in the jail.
Ramon: Oh! Impossible!
Palomarez: Are you doubting me?
Ramon: No, I’m not doubting you, Colonel. You just make it sound so easy.
Palomarez: It is easy when you know what you are doing, Ramon. The man is nothing more than a criminal. I merely met him on his own terms.
Ramon: What about my man, Sergeant Mendoza?
Palomarez: Now that we have Zorro, his sentence is commuted.
(The jail. Zorro is retrieving his sword with his cape underneath the bars as Mendoza watches.)
Zorro: Our little secret, Sergeant, or else. (Ramon and Palomarez enter)
Ramon: So! You are finally here.
Zorro: I offered the Colonel a fair fight, but we seem to have had a misunderstanding.
Palomarez: There is no misunderstanding. You hang in three hours.
Ramon: Considering that reality, I’m going to unmask you now.
Mendoza: You’re going to unmask Zorro?!
Ramon: Sergeant, his capture means your freedom.
Mendoza: Yes, good, but he is Zorro! Something of a tradition around here.
Palomarez: Perhaps you would rather die in his place?
Mendoza: I didn’t say that.
Ramon: Sergeant, enough! I’m going to unmask you now.
Zorro: I thought you might be paying me a little visit, Alcalde. So I took the precaution of asking Toronado to stop by.
Palomarez: You are going to hang.
Zorro: Colonel, we have an appointment with fate, remember? (Zorro whistles. Hoof beats approach.) Buenos Noches, Senores. (Zorro escapes out the window.)
Palomarez: I had him. I had him.
Mendoza: Yes, you had him.
Palomarez: With Zorro’s escape, the sentence is reinstated. You hang at dawn.
(The cave)
Diego: All right, we’re ready. Bring me an arrow, Felipe. This is nothing more than a chemical compound held together by charcoal and sulfur. All quite harmless, really, unless it’s mixed together. (He tosses the ball to Felipe.) It’s all right. Gun powder is not really that dangerous until it meets with friction or heat. Zorro will certainly provide plenty of heat at sunrise. Bring me another arrow.
(The plaza, sunrise)
Victoria: (To Mendoza) Vaya con Dios.
Palomarez: Is everything ready?
Ramon: As you ordered, Colonel.
Palomarez: Read the declaration.
Ramon: (As he reads, we see Zorro climbing up onto a building with a bow and arrow.) Under emergency military law and authority of the King in Spain, the prisoner is sentenced to death by hanging. (Zorro fires the arrows and explosions begin.)
Palomarez: What is that?
Victoria: That is Zorro.
Ramon: Of course! He must be leading an attack on the pueblo!
Palomarez; If it’s a battle he wants,
it’s a battle he will get. To your mounts! Brigadiers! Bring me the head of
Zorro! (The soldiers ride away.)
Zorro: (Zorro aims for the rope above the noose.) Hold still, Sergeant.
Hold very still. (Zorro alights before Palomarez and quickly slices the
reigns on his horse. As Palomarez tries to grab for the ends of the reigns, the
crowd laughs. He falls from the horse.)
Mendoza: This should be interesting.
Victoria: Zorro will defeat him.
Mendoza: Oh, I hope so. I mean, I am a loyal soldier, but I hope so.
Zorro: Ahh. Colonel, may I present to you the head of Zorro, firmly attached to the body. You promised, Señor. Just you and me. (They duel.)
Victoria: Zorro will win.
Mendoza: Palomarez has never been beaten.
(Zorro leads Palomarez up the steps of the gallows and causes him to plummet through the trapdoor. Then he helps the dazed man to his feet.)
Zorro: As we agreed, Colonel, you must leave Los Angeles. Señor, may I borrow your mount? (Zorro knocks Palomarez out and places him on the donkey’s back. As the soldiers return, Ramon looks pleased at the scene, frowns when he sees Zorro. Zorro slips away.)
Mendoza: Zorro, I hereby place you under arrest. (Zorro is gone.) Where did he go? Where is he?
Victoria: Who?
Mendoza: Zorro! How does he do that?
(Zorro is seen riding from the pueblo.)
(The tavern.)
Mendoza: There he was, sitting right next to me in jail.
Diego: You actually saw him there, Sergeant.
Mendoza: Sí, Don Diego. Zorro came this close to the gallows.
Victoria: Yet he managed to escape from the alcalde’s prison.
Mendoza: Oh, between you and me, this Zorro is a pretty smart fellow. He is perhaps even a little smarter than the alcalde.
Diego: No. You really think so?
Mendoza: Zorro is completely responsible for Palomarez’s departure.
Diego: But how could he
single-handedly drive such a tyrant from the pueblo? He must have had help.
Mendoza: Well, I was there. So there was a certain military presence.
Diego: That’s what I thought, Sergeant. So when Palomarez returns, he will certainly be looking for you as well
Mendoza: No problem. When Palomarez returns, I will … Madre de Dios! Palomarez is coming back?
The End.