Further Adventures - Table Run

"Pirates!" Don Diego said, laughing again. "In reality, I did not hire them to come here and furnish us with this entertainment. But since they have been so kind, it is no more than right that I pay them!" He sprang to his feet, bent forward with his hands upon the table, and glared down the length of it at Barbados. "You are the chief bull pirate?" he asked.

"I am the king of the crew!" Barbados replied. "Back against that wall, you and your friends!"

Don Diego Vega laughed lightly again. And then the laughter fled his face, and his eyes narrowed and seemed to send forth flakes of steel.

"Si! You must be paid!" he said. "But there are many ways of making payment!"

The sword of Señor Zorro was beneath his hands. And suddenly it was out of its scabbard, and he had sprung upon the table and had dashed down the full length of it, scattering goblets and plates, drink and food.

Off the other end he sprang, and struck the floor a few feet in front of Barbados, who had recoiled and was struggling to get his cutlass out of his belt. The sword of Zorro flashed through the air, describing a gleaming arc.

"Pirate, eh?" Don Diego Vega cried. You have come to collect riches, have you, Señor Pirate?"

"What is to prevent?" Barbados sneered. "You and your pretty toy of a sword?"


- The Further Adventures of Zorro, Chapter 5