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They’ve experienced villainy before!” “I don’t!” Sir announced. The children could not tell if he was wearing a blindfold underneath the cloud of smoke that still hung over his head. “They’re nothing but trouble!” “They’re telling the truth!” cried Frank, probably, unless it was Ernest. “They’re lying!” cried Ernest, most likely, although I suppose it could have been Frank. “They’re good students!” said Mr. Remora. “They’re lousy administrative assistants!” said Vice Principal Nero. “They’re bank robbers!” said Mrs. Bass, whose blindfold was covering her small, narrow mask. “Bank robbers?” Mr. Poe asked. “Egad! Who said that?” “They’re guilty!” cried the man with a beard but no hair, although the High Court wasn’t supposed to reach a verdict until all the evidence had been examined. “They’re innocent!” cried Hal. “They’re freaks!” screamed Hugo. “They’re twisted!” shrieked Colette. “They’re right-handed!” yelled Kevin. “They’re headlines!” screeched Geraldine Julienne. “They’re escaping!” said the woman with hair but no beard, and this, at least, was a true statement. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny realized that the crowd was going to do nothing that would stop Count Olaf from dragging Justice Strauss away from the trial, and that the people in the lobby would fail them, as so many noble people had failed them before.
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Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events Complete Collection: Books 1-13: With Bonus Material)