If I failed to appear upon the temple, if I failed to maintain my power and my ascendancy, they might turn again to their Sun God. They might reason that their gods had deserted them, that Kinich Ahau was angered at the death of his priest and at being cheated of his virginal brides, and they might seek to appease him by wholesale sacrifices--even by seizing Itza. Moreover--though I am loath to admit it--though I may lay myself open to charges of blasphemy and paganism, I felt a strong desire to stand before that lofty altar and give thanks to my God for His guidance and His protection, for His infinite mercy in having restored my beloved Itza safe and unharmed to my arms. No doubt, to many, to those who have never been in such a situation, who are accustomed to praying in the dim sanctity of their churches, who regard any faith but their own as infidel, the mere thought of offering prayers and thanks to God before a pagan altar and at the feet of a pagan idol will be horrifying, blasphemous. But to one who has dwelt long among those of other religions than his own, to one who has learned how deep-seated, how sublime is their faith, how rigorously, unalterably they strive to live up to its tenets, how absolute their trust in their own gods, one religion seems about as good as another. And though I had no tendency to lean towards the religion and the gods of Mictolan, though I had no faith in Kukulcan nor in Kinich Ahau, yet I realized that, to the people of the valley, the temple was as hallowed, as sacred as our own churches and cathedrals were to us. A Protestant may not believe in the Roman Catholic Church, a Hebrew may not believe in Christ, an Atheist may not believe in Almighty God, a Christian may not believe in Mahomet, a Mohammedan may not believe in Buddha, yet each respects the places of worship of the others. Each--though in his heart he may scoff at--revile the others’ faith--feels, when he enters the church, mosque or temple of the others that he is in a sacred spot; despite himself, he is impressed, awed; so it was with me when I stood above the city before the altar of the temple of the Plumed Serpent. * * * * *