Chapter 7

"Who else but Olaf could have written it?" Violet asked.

"I don't know..." Klaus said. "Someone we've met who thinks of us all as villains?"

"Everybody now," said Sunny with a woeful expression.

"Someone from that last fight who followed us," suggested Violet.

"Hector," suggested Sunny. "Could follow from air."

"Any of Quagmires," sighed Violet. "All of them thought we were accomplices in trying to kill them." Any hope she had cherished for being reunited with Quigley was gone now.

"In a way, we were accomplices," said Klaus. "We all helped Olaf get there and we didn't do anything to stop him."

"Kit," said Violet. "I wouldn't have thought she was capable of murder, but she admitted giving poison darts to our parents. If Fernald's story was true, the 'good side' of the V.F.D. is hard on people they think of as traitors."

"Widdershins volatile," said Sunny.

"Fiona, if she survived the eagles," said Violet. "We never saw what happened inside the submarine."

"Fiona wouldn't do this," said Klaus. "She isn't really evil; she was duped by her brother."

"She was furious at us," said Violet. "And she comes from the same volatile family as Widdershins and Fernald."

"It could be someone completely different, like an old enemy of Olaf's with a base on this island," said Klaus. "Seeing us together, that person might just assume we were in Olaf's gang and go after us all."

"We were. But what do now?" Sunny asked.

"We need to find food to keep up our strength," Violet said. "Our last good meal was the brunch two days ago. I didn't see anything edible on the island so far."

"Except sheep," said Sunny.

Klaus flipped through the yellowed commonplace book. "This was written by someone who explored here. Here's a faded map of the island; there's a path on it leading to the drawing of a fruit tree."

The children's mouthes watered at the thought of fruit. They set off immediately on the path to the tree. The path led up the thickly-wooded hill, which was steep enough to require several switchbacks on the trail. Eventually they came to a clearing where a large apple tree stood, its branches thick with fruit.

They rushed forward, but Klaus suddenly shouted: "Hold on! Look at that sign!"

The was a brass sign beside the tree. Engraved on it were the words:

Forbidden Fruit of No Man's Island
Malus Maleficus
Picking, eating, or removing fruit prohibited by law.

"Do we really care about the law at this point?" Violet asked. "We have to eat."

"There may be a good reason for it," said Klaus. "The fruit may be poisonous. From what I know of Latin roots, malus maleficus sounds like something evil."

"Somebody ate," said Sunny, holding up a fresh apple core she found in the grass.

"That still doesn't prove it's safe," said Klaus. "The person who ate the fruit is probably our enemy; they could have the antidote to the poison and left the core to tempt us."

"That's just speculation," said Violet crossly.

"I'd say we should save this as a last resort, and only eat it if we'd die anyway without it," said Klaus.

"Last resort maybe soon," said Sunny.

"Let's look around and see what else is here," said Klaus. "Maybe there are other fruit trees or berry bushes."

They found no other fruit, but they found a rock with initials engraved on it. Alas, I know it well. The initials "L.S. + B.B." were surrounded by a heart, but someone had crossed out the "L.S." and written "O" instead.

"Those are Mother's initials: Beatrice Baudeliare," said Violet.

"I think this was made a long time ago, before she married Father," said Klaus. "She had the same initials then; her maiden name was Borgia."

"Who L.S.?" asked Sunny.

"Mother once told us the name of the man she was engaged to before Father," said Violet. "She broke it off because of something he did wrong. What was that name? It was a strange one... Lemon something."

"Lemony Snicket!" said Klaus. "I remember now. That's why Jacques Snicket's name was familiar. But what about the 'O'? Was Olaf in love with her, too?"

"Maybe a long time ago," said Violet. "But that love must have turned to hate."

Just then, a hissing sound made them jump. Something large was slithering through the grass toward them!