"The floor was of beaten earth, and at the further end I beheld a large red stone, as red as blood, and guarded by golden rails. There were two candles, one each side, set in brass candlesticks.
"These I lighted, and then without more ado set to work, digging out the earth under the stone with the aid of my knife. I must have laboured for the best part of an hour before the steel struck upon something hard, and the blade snapped in my hand. In another minute I had dragged to light an ancient iron box, which had rusted fully as red as the stone above. The cover fell off as I lifted it, and inside I beheld the Nadir Bandar.
"Scarcely had I taken it in my hand, when the door of the temple opened. I looked up quickly. In the gloom I could see three figures, tall men robed in white, and carrying swords.
"I raised my pistol, but as I did so the words of the Sheikh Al-Abbas came flooding into my mind. 'I wish,' said I clearly and without hesitation, 'that I was in Peshawar.'
"For a moment my eyes closed. When I opened them I was standing outside the house in Peshawar where I had lately lodged."
At this point I laid down the manuscript and burst into a shout of laughter.
Bruce leaned across and picked it up. "You think it's all nonsense?" he said.
"I think," said I, "that as an explorer your uncle can give points to Louis de Rougemont and Dr. Cook. The picture of him suddenly appearing naked in the main street of Peshawar, with a pistol in one hand and the Nadir Bandar in the other, is about the richest touch of imagination I've ever struck."
"You think it's all a lie?" persisted Bruce.
I stared at him.