The Queen of Hearts
a (t) tribute (d) to Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832-1898)
The cache is *not* at the posted coordinates. The pond is a nice place to sit and watch for ducks, and is even stocked with fish for the kids (catch and release), but please stay out of the water. Instead, go hunting for the container, which is a plastic utility box located on private property with permission from the owner. Daylight hours only please. Visitors assume all risks associated with finding and retrieving the cache. So far so good? Now, to business:
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Last night I had a most peculiar dream. The Five of Spades and the Seven of Spades were busy working in a grassy field alongside a pond, tossing handfuls of corn to a flock of twenty-four ducks. The lucky ducks (dare I say it) were happily waddling around and downing the foodstuffs, by all accounts enjoying themselves thoroughly.
A shadow fell across the tranquil scene. The two workers turned to look, and at once prostrated themselves before the QUEEN OF HEARTS.
"Servants!" she cried. "How fare my precious geoducks?"
"Your Majesty," replied the Five of Spades, "I washed them all clean just this last hour..."
“Begging your pardon, your Majesty,” interjected the Seven of Spades, “but this pond is not large enough for clams…”
"SILENCE!" roared the Queen. The two workers quickly ducked and covered. "These ducks are to accompany me geocaching later this morn. You will convey them at once to the enclosures yonder while I collect my geobag and extraneous possessions."
I looked a short distance away, and observed four solidly-constructed duck pens arranged thus:
A B
D C
"Now," inquired the Queen, "how many of the ducks do you propose to place hither?" She indicated the closest of the pens, marked C in the diagram above.
The Five of Spades performed a quick mental calculation and replied, "Six, your Majesty."
"That is well," reflected the Queen. "Otherwise the arrangement would be a bit of an odd duck, don’t you think? But now hear my command."
The two workers glanced at each other with some trepidation.
"As I continue around these enclosures in a clockwise fashion,” the Queen declared, motioning with her arm, “the quantity in each must be closer to ten than the one immediately prior."
The Five and Seven raised their heads in astonishment. "Your Majesty," ventured the Seven, "I confess that I do not quite understand..."
"You fool!" the Queen interrupted angrily. "There are twenty-four ducks in all, to be distributed amongst the four pens. See this!" She turned away from pen C and walked to pen D. "The amount in this pen must be closer to ten than the amount in the previous pen. And see this!" she continued, walking to pen A. "The amount in THIS pen must AGAIN be closer to ten than the amount in the previous pen. And so on and so forth, FOREVER!" she concluded, walking to pen B, pen C, and pen D, while gesticulating wildly. "Now fulfill my command straightaway, or else, OFF WITH YOUR HEADS!"
I woke up with a start, not relishing the task that the Five and Seven had before them. Clearly they needed to get their ducks in a row.
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The secret code is ABCD, four digits total, corresponding to the contents of each pen. Provide the code at the link below to obtain the final coordinates. Use the same code for the padlock on the container, if one is present. Set the dials, then push in to unlock.
Congratulations to Korichnovui and Hawaii Mailman for the FTF!
You can validate your puzzle solution with
certitude.