THE chief solved the problem for me. Timidly approaching me, he pointed to my abandoned dunnage; by graphic gestures, he indicated the flight of my men. Then he pointed at his companions, grinned, again pointed at the baggage, and swinging about, waved his hands in the direction of the higher mountains. No one could have misunderstood him. He realized what had occurred and he was offering to send his men with me as porters. Probably he felt that he was being greatly honored by serving me; very likely he felt that he must make amends for treating me as he had. At any rate, I indicated my acceptance. Springing forward, the chief himself shouldered the largest package as his fellows almost fought for the chance of carrying the others. I did not know where those savages lived; whether they had a village near, whether they came from afar; or whether they dwelt in huts in the forest and visited the temple only to make sacrifices to the ancient Mayan god. Neither did I know how they knew my purpose or my route, unless the chief deciphered the codex, but they seemed to know the direction to follow and, thinking that possibly they had some inkling of the location of the city of the Book of Kukulcan, I followed after. For three days we climbed mountains, descended precipitous slopes, waded rushing streams, struggled through jungles. I could not converse with the Indians except by signs, but we managed to get along. They made the camps, secured game, caught fish, cooked the food and carried the burdens. And when, on one occasion, we came suddenly upon a tapir, and whipping out my revolver I shot the beast, I had ample evidence that they had never before been in contact with white men. With wild cries they dropped their loads, fell flat upon the ground, and fairly grovelled at my feet. And when, after some difficulty, I got them up and they examined the dead tapir, they instantly prostrated themselves a second time. They had never seen or heard firearms--of that I was certain--and I had but to touch the butt of my pistol to cause them to shake with terror and bob their heads to the earth. To them it seemed supernatural; I controlled the thunder and lightning, and for the first time in all my wanderings and my experiences among Indians, I fully realized how the old Dons must have felt, and what power they must have had over the Indians, by virtue of their firearms.