A/N: Well, seeing as Quickedit isn't working for my MSWORD files, I'll just have to convert them all into HTML files. There we go, problem solved! :-)
C h a p t e r Seven
"Well, Baudeliars, what can I say?" commented Marvolo the Ringleader, half an hour later, in his tent, when the coast was clear. "Your performance – abysmal. I expect a better display next time, or, as I have threatened oh, so many times," he roared, spraying saliva on the three orphans, "the biting brat gets it! Do I make myself clear?"
"What was wrong with our act?" inquired Violet. I felt it had the most impact on people than the rest."
Uncle Marv sneered, and mocked Violet. "'It had the most impact on people.' Hmph! How much more stupid could you get? Here, at the Fun Festival, I am in charge. And that means, that what I say, goes. And I don't care about impact; I care about content. It's what makes a show work. Are you even listening to me?" he finished, the familiar menacing gleam fresh in his eyes.
Violet and Klaus nodded, butt Sunny, sitting down by everyone's feet, thought it would be a good time to get her own back on Uncle Marv.
"I!" she shrieked, loud enough for everyone to hear. This time, she probably meant something along the lines of, "there's no 'I' in 'Count Olaf', or in 'Uncle Marvolo', either."
Sunny's older siblings looked down at her, unable to suppress a grin, but Count Olaf himself was taking a deep breath, in preparation to shout his head off again. Just in time, however, Mr. Poe entered the tent.
"Ah! Baudelaires! I thought I might find you here. I wanted to congratulate you on such an excellent first performance."
"Why, thank you, Mr. Poe," Klaus said with a slight grin. "At least someone appreciates our effort."
"What do you mean?" asked Mr. Poe.
Violet sighed. "Mr. Poe, we need to talk to you. Outside…" she motioned to the tent's flap.
"Very well, but make it quick. I'm due back at Mulctuary Money Management in an hour, and the next train is due in –" he checked his watch, and gasped, "five minutes! I must hurry." After a brief fit of coughing from Mr. Poe, Violet asked Uncle Marv if they could walk with Mr. Poe for a quick chat.
"Well, actually," said Marv with a malicious grin, "I was out to do some circus business, anyway. You see, we are running out of equipment for the shows, and I need to go into town to get some more. I hope you wouldn't mind if I joined you? There is only one train running from here to the town of Tedia –" he looked at Mr. Poe, "isn't there?"
"Well, yes, in that case," said Mr. Poe. "I really don't see why not. You seem to be concerned with the safety of these children, and it would be a great opportunity for me to learn about the circus."
They all set out for the train station, the Baudelaires hanging their heads in defeat. They had wanted to try to tell Mr. Poe about Uncle Marv's real identity, but obviously they had failed.
"Besides," Violet whispered into Klaus' ear, for fear of being overheard by the two adults, "telling Mr. Poe wouldn't have made such a difference. He always believes that Count Olaf is who he says he is."
"That's right," Klaus whispered back. "He usually only finds out at the last minute, and then Count Olaf escapes."
"Why are you three children so quiet?" Mr. Poe asked. "Surely you can't be miserable here? It's the circus! Oh, no, wait, don't tell me: Count Olaf is here and he is going to throw up some dastardly plan to steal your money again, right?"
"Actually -" Violet started, but a menacing look from Marv made her change her mind. "No, we haven't seen him at all. I think we're pretty safe."
"Well," said Mr. Poe, "it's good to know that Marvolo over here – if I can call you that, of course?"
Marv nodded. "Please, call me Marv."
"That Marv over here has excelled in the task of keeping Count Olaf away. I think you may stay here longer then any other residence you have resided at."
The Baudelaires all looked at him solemnly, but said nothing.
"'Resided'," coughed Mr. Poe, "means 'lived'."
"We know what it means, Mr. Poe," said Klaus with a sigh.
A short while later, they arrived at the station. The Baudelaires were amazed to see a railway station out in the middle of nowhere, but to Mr. Poe and Uncle Marv, it was as normal as finding a bath in a bathroom.
"Well, here's the train," Mr. Poe said, and waved goodbye. "Aren't you coming, Marv?"
"Actually, it's not that important. I can wait until next week."
"OK, then, Baudelaires, see you later!" Mr. Poe shouted over the hiss of the already moving steam engine, and hopped onto the train. In a few seconds, and a puff of smoke, he was gone.
Marvolo smirked, and turned to face the Baudelaires. "Well, Baudeliars," he said again. "You thought you were going to rat me out to your fellow Mr. Poe. Well, it hasn't worked this time. So -"
Marvolo paused as his walkie-talkie rang, similar to the one Count Olaf carried in Al Funcoot's play of The Marvellous Marriage. He picked it up. The voice on the other end sounded deep and grunt-like, and would most probably be one of Count Olaf's comrades: the person that looked like neither a man nor a woman. The Baudelaires once again strained their ears to pick up every word that was being said.
"Olaf, Boss?" Grunty said.
"Yes? Make it quick. What is it?" Marv snapped.
"The papers are here. All they need is your signature for confirmation."
"Sshh! Not much now. The brats are with me."
"Yes, Boss."
"And one last thing…"
"Yes, Boss?"
"Check the box marked 'withdraw all'. I want the thing drained, you hear me?"
"The -"
Unfortunately, the Baudelaires did not hear which word came next, as Uncle Marv had chosen the right moment to cough.
"Alright, all done, Boss."
"I will arrive in a few minutes."
"Yes, Boss. Over and out."
Uncle Marv turned to face the Baudelaires, who were huddled in a group, to make it look as though they had been talking amongst themselves, and not listening in on a top-secret phone-call.
"Well, brats, we haven't been listening in on old Uncle Marv's walkie-talkie conversation with the clowns, were you?"
Violet, Klaus and Sunny put on their most innocent faces.
"Oh, no, sir, of course not," said Violet.
"Wouldn't dream of it," said Klaus.
"Innoc," said Sunny, which probably meant, "innocence is a virtue."
Uncle Marv looked at the children with his narrow-eyed suspicious look that the Baudelaires knew only too well from their times with Count Olaf. Then he shrugged, and said,
"Well, I'll take your word for it. As long as you haven't been scheming against me in that huddled group of yours," he said.
The three Baudelaires shook their heads, but Uncle Marv took it the wrong way.
"'Scheming'," said Uncle Marv, with the air of talking to a particularly dumb person, "means 'plotting'."
"We know what 'scheming' means," said Violet with a sigh. "We shook our heads to say that we haven't been scheming against you."
"Oh, I see now," said Uncle Marv with a huge fake grin. "OK. Let's all go back to the Fun Festival. We need to do some more rehearsing on your pathetic act."
The Baudelaires sighed again as they walked back to the circus; but they thought not to pursue the matter, a phrase which here means 'argue with Count Olaf, who is calling himself Uncle Marv, any longer.'
As soon as they were out of Uncle Marv's sight, the Baudelaire orphans rushed into the I.D.V. tent, where they planned to mull over the new information they had picked up.
"I wonder what Olaf is up to this time?" asked Violet. "We now know that it has something to do with papers."
"And withdrawal," said Klaus. "That means taking out something. But what could it be?"
"Word?" shrieked Sunny, which probably meant something along the lines of, "what was the word that Count Olaf coughed over so he wouldn't let us hear it?"
"I don't know, Sunny," said Violet sadly. "Maybe if we did know, it would make figuring out Olaf's plan a bit easier."
"Well," figured Klaus, "we can use what we've got to help us. I think that the most important clue is that he's after our money."
"Bank?" asked Sunny hopefully.
"I don't think so, Sunny," said Klaus. "We know Olaf is greedy, but he wouldn't try to rob a bank. He would try to got the money legally, so he can keep it without being framed."
"'I want the thing drained," repeated Violet. "What was that supposed to mean?"
"Firstly, let's think about the money itself," said Klaus. "If you keep the money in your bank, you would have an account, right?"
"That's true," said Violet. "'Drain an account'. It makes sense!"
"Papers!" shrieked Sunny, which obviously meant, "then what are the papers for?"
"Hmmm…" hummed Violet. "Good question. Maybe they're to prove something?"
"But what would there be to prove?" asked Klaus in wonder.
"Well, Klaus," Violet said thoughtfully. "Think about it logically. It's our money, so the only things he would have to prove is that he is our guardian, and that we are of age. That's where the papers come in, most probably."
"But how will that fool Mr. Poe? He's just been to visit us today. We can't grow up a few years in a matter of hours!" cried Klaus. "Alas, if only we had a book on money to help us…"
A/N: dun-dun-duuun… what happens now?
Tee, he, he… Please R&R!