My deception in a box was the story about the Mechanical Turk, used to distract you from the hidden message.
The solution is the following statements, which can be found by combining the last letters of one word with the first letters of the next word, scattered throughout the story:
ONE OF FIVE
TWIN STONE ARCH BRIDGE
ROUTE NINE
NORTH BRANCH RIVER
NEW HAMPSHIRE
There are five stone arch bridges in NH. This one has two (twin) arches.
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Explanation of the clues:
Dare to be
enamored with the
two falls and the
seven sands.
But don't believe any of
them.
They are all at the
top of the list of false leads.
Each of the highlighted words can be found by combining the last letters of one word and the first letters of the next word, but none of these were used in the solution.
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"Sometimes what you think is an end is only a beginning." -Agatha Christie
Each word of the solution begins with the end of a word.
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3-4-2-3-2
This is how many words there are in each statement of the solution.
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Dean Drake will lead you to your prize
But be careful; he can lead you astray.
Once you have used him, dispose of him
Again, the highlighted words can be found using the same method that solves the puzzle, but they are not part of the solution. Once you found these two words, you would not use them, but you would know how to solve the puzzle.
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3-4-2-3-2 with additional numbers under them indicate the number of letters in each word of each sentence/ phrase of the solution.
Also, there is an image of the bridge hidden under the text. If you change the contrast on the picture, the image becomes clear (I'll add a picture, below).
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Here are a few more
hints for solving Deception in a Box:
1. Don't rus
h in. Think through all options carefully.
2. Take a break. Then begin again with fres
h interest.
3. Dig deep wit
hin the story. There lies the solution!
Each statement contains the word "hint" using the same method used to find the solution.
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“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning...” -T.S. Eliot
Another reference to the end of one word being the beginning, and the beginning of another being the end.
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