The Pulidos Are Arrested

The Governor of California was in San Francisco. When he received Captain Ramon's letter about the Pulido family, he was very angry.

" The Pulido family is helping that thief, Zorro, " he said. " They are enemies of this country, and they are my enemies too. I will go immediately to Los Angeles and I will punish them."

The governor traveled to Los Angeles and he went to the presidio. He wanted to talk to Captain Ramon.

" Have you caught Señ or Zorro yet? " he asked the captain.

" No, Your Excellency." replied Captain Ramon. " But I've sent my best soldiers to find him."

" And Don Carlos Pulido is helping Zorro? "

" Yes, Your Excellency. I found Zorro at Don Carlos's hacienda. And when the Pulidos stayed in Don Diego's house in the town, Zorro followed them. The whole family is helping him—Señ orita Lolita too. They hide him and give him food."

The governor thought for a minute. Then he spoke.

" The soldiers must arrest Don Carlos and his family, " he said. " I'll send the Pulidos to jail."

Don Carlos was sitting quietly on the veranda of his hacienda. Suddenly, he heard the sound of horses. A large group of soldiers was galloping towards the house. A sergeant was leading them.

" Are you Don Carlos Pulido? " asked the sergeant.

" Yes, " replied Don Carlos.

" I have orders from his Excellency, the Governor of California. I am going to arrest you."

" But what have I done wrong? " asked Don Carlos in surprise.

" You are helping the enemies of this country."

" That's not true! " said Don Carlos. " I've never helped the enemies of this country."

" You must tell that to a judge, " said the sergeant. " But now I must arrest you and take you to jail."

" To jail! " said Don Carlos. " Please let me tell my wife and daughter where I'm going. They'll be worried about me."

" I'm going to arrest them and take them to jail too, " said the sergeant. " Those are my orders! "

Don Carlos's face became pale. He did not care about going to jail himself. But he did not want Doñ a Catalina and Lolita to go there. The jail was a horrible place. It was very dirty and it was full of thieves and murderers.

He went into the house and the sergeant followed. He told his wife and daughter the bad news. Doñ a Catalina looked at the sergeant. Then she spoke proudly.

" The governor has taken away our money and our land, " she said. " But he can never take away our good name."

Servants brought a small carriage to the front door, and the Pulidos got into it. The carriage began its journey to Los Angeles. As they got near the town, the Pulidos saw a large crowd of people. The governor had paid these people. He had told them to stand by the road. He had told them to laugh and throw dirt at the Pulidos.

But the Pulidos looked proudly in front of them and they did not speak.

At last, the carriage stopped in front of the jail. The sergeant knocked on the heavy door and an ugly jailer came out.

" Who are these people? " he asked, smiling horribly.

" Enemies of the country, " replied the sergeant. He pushed the Pulidos inside the jail. The door closed behind them.

The jailer took the Pulidos to a small dark room. He left them there and he locked the door behind him.

The room was very small and dirty. The smell was terrible. The Pulidos sat down in a corner. Tears ran down the faces of Don Carlos and Doñ a Catalina.

But Lolita did not cry. She was thinking about Zorro. For a moment, she felt happy. She held her father's arm.

" Don't be sad, dear Father, " she said. " We'll get out of here. Perhaps a friend will rescue us!