                 let shuffledStringStart = BSShuffler.shuffledStringStart(shuffledString,
                     node:node)
                 
-                if (BSShuffler.isNodeValueEqualToValue(node, value:shuffledStringStart)) {
+                if (node.value == shuffledStringStart) {
                     // path to this node is a valid candidate, so add sub-branches
                     BSShuffler.addLeftNodeToNodeAndQueue(node, queue:&queue, string0:string0)
                     BSShuffler.addRightNodeToNodeAndQueue(node, queue:&queue, string1:string1)

     *  Useful during development for examining traversal history.
     */
    var nodesSearched: Array<String> = []

    class func isNodeValueEqualToValue(node: BSNode, value: String) -> Bool {
        if (node.value == value) {
            return true
        }
        return false
    }

    // MARK: - node index methods
    

        string0: String, string1: String) -> Bool {
            
            if (BSShuffler.isLeafNode(node, string0:string0, string1:string1)
                && (node.value == shuffledString)) {
                    return true
            } else {
                return false
