We were on the right track. Itza had been brought this way. Her chain, dislodged by her struggles or trailing had been caught in the door as it was closed, and somewhere behind that secret doorway, we would find her. Suddenly the prince uttered an exclamation. “Wait;” he cried, as he dashed up the few remaining steps. The next instant he was at the doorway to the priest’s room. I saw him reach within, saw him draw the golden idol towards him, and as he did so the solid masonry swung back before me! Cautiously, feeling our way, with weapons in readiness for instant use, we crept along the dark and narrow passageway. For what seemed miles, we followed it. No doors opened from it; it was a damp, low-roofed noisome tunnel, and I shuddered as I thought of Itza in such a place. Then to our ears came the sound of falling water. The floor was wet and slippery. Narrow, uncertain streaks of light showed in the masonry, and we came to a halt at the end of the passageway. Above us water gurgled and splashed. We examined the walls, searched for some door, some hidden exit. My head bumped against some object. I stepped back with a cry of pain and glanced up. A bar of metal projected from the wall. Reaching up I grasped it, tugged at it. Slowly, smoothly it moved. A blaze of light fell upon us. A wide opening showed above our heads. I grasped the edge, swung myself up, and cried out in utter amazement. I was standing in the patio of my own palace! CHAPTER XVII The Secret Door THE mystery of Itza’s disappearance was solved. A segment of the circular flagging about the fountain was movable; it could be opened by means of the lever within the tunnel, and Itza had been seized, dragged into the secret passage and carried to the temple. But knowing how she had been abducted did not help matters any. We were no nearer finding her now than we were before. We had lost valuable, precious time, wandering underground merely to find ourselves back in my own patio. We had followed the back trail from the temple, and I raved, swore, cursed in my extremity and my impotent rage. There was nothing to do but return to the deserted quarters of the priest and from there make a thorough, systematic search of every room, passage and chamber within the huge temple. But for us to undertake this alone seemed hopeless, almost suicidal. Torn with sorrow, maddened as I was, I had sense enough left to realize this. To blindly sacrifice myself and Azcopil would not help Itza, and I had no doubt that, when we returned to the temple, we would meet with a warm reception, that the priests and their attendants would be armed, and that we would stand little chance against their numbers. Moreover, how could we two hope to find Itza in the mazes of the temple? No doubt it was full of secret passages and hidden doors. We knew one such existed and where there was one there would be more. We might pass within a few yards, a few feet, of Itza