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"I think we should just wait for Uncle Monty to come back, and tell him what has happened," Violet said. "He'll believe us. If we tell him about the tattoo, he'll at least ask Stephana for an explanation." Violet's tone of voice when she said "Stephano" indicated her utter scorn for Olaf's disguise.
"Are you sure?" Klaus said. "After all, Uncle Monty is the one who hired Stephano." Klaus's tone of voice when he said "Stephano" indicated that he shared his sister's feelings. "For all we know, Uncle Monty and Stephano have pla
"Minda!" Su
Violet shook her head. "Su
"That's true," Klaus said thoughtfully. "So we wait for Uncle Monty."
"We wait," Violet agreed.
"Tojoo," Su
Finally, as the snake-shaped hedges began to cast long, ski
"I didn't know what kind of toothbrush you preferred," Uncle Monty was saying apologetically, "so I got you one with extra-firm bristles because that's the kind I like. Peruvian food tends to be sticky, so you need to have at least one extra toothbrush whenever you go there."
"Extra-firm bristles are fine with me," Stephano said, speaking to Uncle Monty but looking at the orphans with his shiny, shiny eyes. "Shall I carry in the canoe?"
"Yes, but my goodness, you can't carry it all by yourself," Uncle Monty said. "Klaus, please help Stephano, will you?"
"Uncle Monty," Violet said, "we have something very important to tell you."
"I'm all ears," Uncle Monty said, "but first let me show you the wasp repellent I picked up. I'm so glad Klaus read up on the insect situation in Peru, because the other repellents I have would have been no use at all." Uncle Monty rooted through one of the bags on his arm as the children waited impatiently for him to finish. "This one contains a chemical called-"
"Uncle Monty," Klaus said, "what we have to tell you really can't wait.
"Klaus " Uncle Monty said, his eyebrows rising in surprise, "it's not polite to interrupt when your uncle is talking. Now, please help Stephano with the canoe, and we'll talk about anything you want in a few moments."
Klaus sighed, but followed Stephano out the open door. Violet watched them walking toward the ieep as Uncle Monty put down the shopping bags and faced her. "I can't remember what I was saying about the repellent," he said, a httle crossly "I hate losing my train of thought."
"What we have to tell you," Violet began, but she stopped when something caught her eye. Monty was facing away from the door, so he couldn't see what Stephano was doing, but Violet saw Stephano stop at the snake-shaped hedges reach into his coat pocket, and take out the long knife. Its blade caught the light of the setting sun and it glowed bnghtly like a lighthouse. As you probably know, lighthouses serve as warning signals, telling ships where the shore is so they don't run into it. The shining knife was a warning, too.
Klaus looked at the knife, and then at Stephano, and then at Violet. Violet looked at Klaus, and then at Stephano, and then at Monty. Su
CHAPTER Five
That night felt like the longest and most terrible the Baudelaire orphans had ever had, and they'd had plenty. There was one night, shortly after Su
But this particular night seemed worse. From the moment of Monty's arrival until bedtime, Stephano kept the children under his constant surveillance, a phrase which here means "kept watching them so they couldn't possibly talk to Uncle Monty alone and reveal that he was really Count Olaf," and Uncle Monty was too preoccupied to think that anything unusual was going on. When they brought in the rest of Uncle Monty's purchases, Stephano carried bags with only one hand, keeping the other one in his coat pocket where the long knife was hidden, but Uncle Monty was too excited about all the new supplies to ask about it. When they went into the kitchen to prepare di
For the first time, having individual bedrooms seemed like a hardship rather than a luxury, for without one another's company the orphans felt even more lonely and helpless. Violet stared at the paper tacked to her wall and tried to imagine what Stephano was pla