Read the excerpt from "Tools of the Spymaster." General Clinton, concerned about what General Howe was planning and doing made use of a mask to write a secret message in a letter to General Burgoyne. Before writing the letter.Clinton had placed an hourglass- shaped mask on a piece of paper and then had formed the secret message within that shape. The unmasked letter had enough false information in it to fool any American who happened to see it.But when Burgoyne viewed the letter with the mask, he read Clinton's view of the real situation: Howe has made a bad move; I don't have enough men to do anything about it. The author's main purpose in this excerpt is to describe a form of code writing using an example explain the mistakes of General Howe during the war. entertain the reader with a humorous story of miscommunication. argue that using a mask is the best method for sending secret messages.

## Step 1<br />The first step in solving this problem is to understand the context of the excerpt. The excerpt is from "Tools of the Spymaster" and it describes a situation where General Clinton uses a mask to write a secret message to General Burgoyne. The mask is an hourglass shape, and the message is hidden within this shape.<br /><br />## Step 2<br />The next step is to analyze the content of the excerpt. The excerpt provides a detailed description of how General Clinton used a mask to write a secret message. It also explains how the unmasked letter contained false information to mislead anyone who might see it.<br /><br />## Step 3<br />The final step is to determine the author's main purpose in the excerpt. The author's main purpose is to describe a form of code writing using an example. The excerpt does not primarily focus on explaining the mistakes of General Howe, entertaining the reader with a humorous story of miscommunication, or arguing that using a mask is the best method for sending secret messages.