His faith in the prophecy was sublime, but I could not blame him for placing absolute confidence in it. Had I not seen the prophecy of Kukulcan fulfilled to the letter? Had not this new prophecy thus far been borne out? I am not superstitious, I have no belief in prophecies or in the occult, and yet--well, I could not deny the truth of what I had actually seen and experienced, and I confess I was beginning to believe that the old Mayas possessed some power of divining the future of which we know nothing. Still I was not yet enough of a fatalist, nor sufficiently convinced of the truth of the prophecy, to trust entirely to it. But there was no use in worrying over what might or might not happen. The revelations of the prince had cleared the air. No longer need I attempt to pose as a divinity with him. No longer did Itza look upon me as a superior being. And as the prince assured me that the greater portion of the inhabitants were loyal to his house, and secretly hated Kinchi Haman, I felt that, no matter what difficulties might arise, I could count upon having a majority on my side. * * * * * HAD I followed out my own wishes, I would have left Mictolan and its people to solve their problems as best they might and have taken the first opportunity to clear out with Itza. But I realized that such a course was impossible. Even alone, there was not one chance in thousands that I could ever reach civilization. The mere thought of the horrors, the dangers I would have to face, appalled me, and to expose the girl whom I loved more than my life, to almost certain death, and to the most terrible hardships and sufferings, anyway, was not to be thought of for a moment. Far better to remain forever in the valley, to live with Itza forever, cut off from civilization and my fellows, than to attempt flight. And, I felt, life in Mictolan, with Itza as my wife, and with the hideous old priest gone and Azcopil reigning as king, would be as pleasant and enjoyable an existence as any mortal man had a right to expect. I even began to have dreams of my future there, of the things I might accomplish, of the modernities I might establish, of the busy interesting life I would lead teaching the Mictolans, helping them onwards, watching the development of their civilization, while I taught them about machinery, about electricity, about innumerable matters of which they knew nothing. Meanwhile, we had circled the valley and had come to the avenue leading from the city to the tunnel through which I had entered the valley. Filled with the most intense curiosity to see that marvelous bridge of light once more, I expressed my wishes to my companions. But at Itza’s words I halted, astounded, incredulous. There was no bridge of light, she declared. It had ceased as soon as I had reached the valley. It had existed only to afford me passage!