In a reflective mood I stepped towards the map and looked at it. The flag which marked New Zealand had sagged down slightly, as though less firmly thrust in than the rest. Without stopping to think what I was doing, I took hold of the pin and pressed it into the wall.
To my surprise I felt a resistance which at once accounted for the loose position in which I had found the flag. I removed one of the other pins, and found it went into the wall without any difficulty. It was therefore clear that at the particular part of the wall covered by New Zealand there existed some obstacle, probably of a metallic nature.
Once convinced of this, I had no doubt as to my next step. I drew out the whole of the pins in the eastern portion of the chart, and rolled it back.
I was rewarded by the sight of a dark round patch on the wall-paper, beneath which I could detect the presence of a metallic disk or knob. I pressed it boldly, and a square section of the wall opened out on a hinge, revealing a small cupboard, secured by a black seal showing the impress of the Emperor’s signet, with which I was sufficiently familiar.
This discovery placed me in an awkward position. There was no time for me to counterfeit the seal, and if I broke it, it was evident that Wilhelm II. must know that his hiding-place had been tampered with.
The prudence I had shown in dealing with Finkelstein was now invaluable to me. At the worst the Kaiser would learn that his secrets were in the hands of a Russian spy, and my real employer would be unknown. It was this reflection which emboldened me to proceed.
I broke the seal, opened the cupboard, and found a pile of papers which I took to the writing-table to look through.
The papers were enclosed in what is styled in Government Departments a ‘jacket’—a large sheet of paper folded to form a cover. The outside of this jacket was endorsed in the Kaiser’s well-known hand—‘European Zollverein.’
“‘Arrest that man!’ the Kaiser commanded, without giving him time to speak.”