The secret hiding place is in my room. You must live there and guard the spot until the appointed time.
Do not regard this as an old man's whim. It is important. No one knows my secret, yet sometimes the most secret things are discovered.
Use the utmost secrecy, Bruce. Be sure that you are alone, in my room. Go to the fireplace. Press upon the metal border at the top of the right side. The hiding place will open. It is concealed by a stone in the hearth.
Read the letter. Learn the time and place of the meeting. Carry the package and the sealed envelope and go there — alone. You know your duty from then on. Destroy this letter after you have read it.
The signature of Harvey Duncan was at the bottom of the page.
* * *
The young man stared at the words before him. He read the letter again. Each fact seemed to burn itself into his brain. He tore the papers into fragments. He wondered what to do with them, then realized it did not matter.
For the secret was no longer his alone. His uncle's fears had been realized. Some one had discovered the hiding place. Bruce was positive now that he had been drugged the right before. Perhaps the hashish — if that had been the drug — had made the strange visitor seem grotesque. But he was certain that some living being had entered his room and had taken the documents and the package.
His only hope was that the thief had not fully understood the significance of the objects he had taken. This seemed a faint hope. Where, then, had the information been gained? Bruce was sure that no one could have read the letter which he had just perused. Tremaine, the lawyer, was unquestionably reliable. Abdul could not have known of the secret. Perhaps the knowledge had been gained from Russia. No; that would not have carried a clue to the hiding place in the hearth.
Bruce Duncan went into Tremaine's office. He was tempted to tell the lawyer what he had learned, for he felt that he needed advice. The secret had been discovered; this fact might alter the instructions in the letter, which demanded absolute secrecy. On second thought Duncan decided to say nothing.