Georganna wrote: If I understood it all correctly, it was not the 'clue' to finding the HII, but rather the instructions for its use that are wrapped with the Idol itself that Reed took from Keith's bag.

That's correct. You can see the instructions here:

Dabo wrote: SECOND FIRST! OUTRIGHT THEFT! Isn't it a rule, one of the few absolutes in Survivor, that that which is in a player's personal bag is absolutely that player's personal property and cannot be stolen?

No. The rules do not state anything about the personal bag nor that the contents of the personal bag is private/personal property.

The original rules in 2010 said:

http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2010/05/survivor-rule-book/

B. The Survivor Experience

1. Allocation and Provisions

(vi) The only property which will be considered private and belonging to any individual Contestant will be that individual's luxury item, if any, and personal clothing and any items given specifically to him or her by the production team. Private items may not be taken or removed except by permission of the owner-Contestant.

No mention of the Contestants bags being private property nor the contents of the bag (which players have been going through all the way back to Season 2 Outback when they went through Kel's bag looking for beef jerky).

Later we learned that the Hidden Immunity Idol is also considered private property and can not be stolen even if you find it where the Contestant hid it. It must be explicitly given away by the Contestant.

Of course several players have destroyed or damaged other player's personal clothing without being penalized...