Jack the Hunter

The retelling of chapter five and six of Lord of the Flies from Jack Merridew's point of view.

I don't own anything about Lord of the Flies. This was written as a school assignment. My teacher really enjoyed it and gave me a 26/20 (he doesn't let 100%'s tie him down--he gives us whatever he feels like. Cool, huh? n.n) However, even though I don't own the book, this is MY assignment--steal it for free marks and you will PAY. Have a nice day! n_n

CHAPTER 5

"The thing is:," Ralph began, "we need an assembly."

Of course, I know why Ralph called this assembly. He's probably looking forward to setting the whole tribe against me. Jack let the fire go out, he'll say. It's all his fault that we're still here. Jack let the fire go out, so the ship didn't see us, and now we'll be on this island forever, and it's all Jack's fault!

"We need an assembly," he repeated, probably doing his best to make me sweat. He's trying to make me scared and apprehensive, so I'll worry about what he'll say about me, so I'll willingly submit to whatever he has to say. Well, Ralph, you've got another thing coming. I know exactly what you're going to say, and I'm not scared.

"Not for fun. Not for laughing and falling off the log--" the laughter almost didn't make it to my ears, since I was busy thinking of something I could do to save face--"not for making jokes, or for, for cleverness. Not for these things. But to put things straight."

I glared at the darkened ground. Why didn't he just announce it, already? Can't he see that stalling won't worry me at all?

Ralph paused, and I dug my big toe into the sand, pretending that it was his skull I was crushing beneath my foot.

"I've been alone. By myself I went, thinking what's what. I need to know what we need. An assembly to put things straight. And first of all, I'm speaking."

Blah, blah, blah. I'm speaking, he's speaking, I got the conch! Stupid shell. It was a dumb idea in the first place. Why doesn't he just say something worth hearing and give the stupid conch to someone who knows what they're doing? This wouldn't have happened if I had been the one elected chief. No, we would eat meat every day, and there would be no conch and no stupid fat kid to tell me I'm wrong.

Ralph went on about water and coconut shells and the rickety old huts, but I tuned him out. It was all mindless chatter to me. What's so fun about building and fetching when you could hunt?

And, then, for some reason, the assembly screamed with laughter, gaining my attention again. They weren't laughing at me, were they? My face burned in humiliation.

Ralph shouted over the laughter. "I said if you're taken short you keep away from the fruit. That's dirty!"

I joined the laughter with a relieved chuckle.

Obviously antagonized, Ralph screamed, "I said that's dirty!" The assembly calmed, and he fidgeted, nervously. "That's really dirty. If you're taken short you go right along the beach to the rocks. See?"

Well, that's one thing I had to agree with. Those disgusting littluns. During these last few days, I've come across more human droppings than pig, and just yesterday, I stepped in the waste on my way to the fruit. I'd kicked the next littlun I saw because of that.

"We've all got to use the rocks again. This place is getting dirty," Ralph followed up. "And then: about the fire."

My heart nearly stopped in surprise, but not fear, I tell you. I started chipping a piece of wood from the log I was sitting on, and whispered to Robert, "Don't let that blowhard's words get to you," but the wuss looked away, so I put my attention to the knife. A piece of wood fell off.

Then Ralph uttered a bunch of more nonsense. Things he had said before and I didn't care to hear again. The fire is the most important thing on the island. The smoke is more important than the pig. Blah, blah, blah. I carved a nasty word into the bark.

A single word brought me back to the assembly.

"...Rule, because I'm chief. We won't have a fire anywhere but on the mountain. Ever."

Why, that, that fool! How dare he order us around like that?! Why should we run up and down the mountain just to get something to eat?!

"Because," Ralph shouted, "if you want a fire to cook fish or crab, you can jolly well go up the mountain. That way we'll be certain."

A bunch of boys reached for the conch, but Ralph held it close and climbed onto his log, standing taller than everyone else. Like he was a god of some sort. The pompous fool.

"All this I meant to say. Now I've said it. You voted me for chief. Now you do what I say."

Hatred bubbled up inside of me like I was a volcano ready to erupt. I didn't vote for Ralph. I voted for myself, and I know with my heart that I would be a much better leader than he is.

"So, remember," he concluded. "The rocks for a lavatory. Keep the fire going and smoke showing as a signal. Don't take fire from the mountain. Take your food up there."

Scowling at the dark silhouette of my rival, I stood, and held out my hands to receive the conch.

"I haven't finished yet," said Ralph, annoyed.

I nearly exploded, but I kept myself in check, and merely exclaimed, "But you've talked and talked!"

"I've got the conch," Ralph retorted.

"'I've got the conch'," I grumbled, in fury, as I sat down again. "'I'm speaking. He's speaking. I got the conch.'"

I blocked out another chunk of his crazy, stupid speech so I could will my fury away. I really doubt the tribe would ever respect me again if I jumped up and beat their 'leader', no matter what nonsense he spouted. I took a deep breath, and waited as patiently as I could for him to put down the conch.

"We've got to talk about this fear and decide there's nothing to it," Ralph continued. So, this meeting wasn't called because of the fire, after all. Well, not entirely, anyway. It was about that stupid beast again! There's no beast! It's all in our heads! Just like the monster in the closet. I know it's not there but I still won't go check in the middle of the night because 'what if...?'.

Continuing, Ralph said, "I'm frightened myself, sometimes; only that's nonsense! Like bogies. Then, when we've decided, we can start again and be careful about things like the fire. And be happy."

Well, I suppose we can agree about one thing. Excluding the fire, of course. What's the point in the fire, anyway? Meat is more important. It makes me happier than a stupid fire.

Finally, Ralph put the conch down. I was the first to stand and pick it up.

"So this is a meeting to find out what's what. I'll tell you what's what. You littluns started all this, with the fear talk." I took a deep breath and shouted, "Beasts! Where from? Of course we're frightened sometimes but we put up with being frightened. Only Ralph says you scream in the night. What does that mean but nightmares? Anyway, you don't hunt or build or help--you're a lot of cry-babies and sissies. That's what. And as for the fear--you'll have to put up with that like the rest of us.

"The thing is--fear can't hurt you any more than a dream. There aren't any beasts to be afraid of on this island." I glared at the whispering littluns. "Serves you right if something did get you, you useless lot of cry-babies! But there is no animal--"

Interrupting, Ralph angrily demanded, "What is all this? Who said anything about an animal?"

"You did, the other day," I retorted, smirking in victory. "You said they dream and cry out. Now they talk--not only the littluns, but my hunters sometimes--talk of a thing, a dark thing, a beast, some sort of animal. I've heard. You thought not, didn't you?" Of course I've heard. Many times. Especially just before we found evidence of the pig. You don't think someone's hunting us right now, do you, Jack? "Now listen. You don't get big animals on small islands. Only pigs. You only get lions and tigers in big countries like Africa and India--"

Someone said, "And the Zoo--"

"I've got the conch," I interrupted with delighted irony. "I'm not talking about the fear. I'm talking about the beast. Be frightened if you like. But as for the beast--"

I paused, and turned toward my hunters.

"Am I a hunter or am I not?" I asked them.

They nodded in agreement. Yes, Jack Merridew is a hunter.

"Well then--I've been all over this island. By myself. If there were a beast I'd have seen it. Be frightened because you're like that--but there is no beast in the forest."

I gave the frozen boy's conch back, and sat down. Applause erupted from the assembly, and I glowed with victory. I beat you, Ralph. I beat you at your own game. I smiled in superiority.

Then that fat Piggy reached forward with his bloated arm and seized the conch. He spoke, and the darkness could not hide his flabby cheeks. "I don't agree with all Jack said, but with some. 'Course there isn't a beast in the forest. How could there be? What would a beast eat?"

Who did he think he was? Damn, that tub of lard was even worse than Ralph.

"Pig."

"We eat pig."

"Piggy!"

I snickered at the last comment, even though it came from a littlun.

"I got the conch!" Piggy shouted. The words infuriated me. I hate that kid, especially when he says that, bad grammar and blubber flying. "Ralph--they ought to shut up, oughtn't they?" Yes, run to Ralph, pig-boy. "You shut up, you littluns! What I mean is that I don't agree about this here fear. Of course there isn't nothing to be afraid of in the forest. Why--I been there myself!" What, did his momma take him on the tour, or something? He certainly has enough useless information to spout. "You'll be talking about ghosts and such things next. We know what goes on and if there's something wrong, there's someone to put it right." Yes, Jack the Hunter can make everything all right, but they already know that, Fatty, so why are you speaking at all?

When he took off his glasses to inspect them, I realized how dark it was, and fought to keep from yawning.

Just as I thought, the stupid Piggy spouted off a load of useless information about big and little stomach pains--though the comment "Yours is a big one" was entertaining enough--mind doctors, and outer space.

I yawned, tired, and listened to his horrible grammar in an attempt to stay awake.

"...There isn't no beast--not with claws and all that, I mean--but I know there isn't no fear either." He paused. "Unless--"

Restlessly, Ralph asked, "Unless what?"

"Unless we get frightened of people."

I laughed at the stupid notion.

The fat kid hurriedly continued. "So let's hear from that littlun who talked about a beast and perhaps we can show him how silly he is."

The littluns whispered among themselves, and one stood up, stepping forward.

"What's your name?" Fatty asked, like it was an important question. Who cares? I yawned again.

"Phil," he answered, taking the conch.

He seems kind of confident for a littlun. He reminds me of my little brother. Of course, Thomas is at home, probably asleep by now.

"Last night I had a dream," he began, "a horrid dream, fighting with things. I was outside the shelter by myself, fighting with things, those twisty things in the trees. Then I was frightened and I woke up. And I was outside the shelter by myself in the dark and the twisty things had gone away. And I was frightened and started to call out for Ralph and then I saw something moving among the trees, something big and horrid."

I stared at the littlun's silhouette with weary horror.

"That was a nightmare," Ralph exclaimed. "He was walking in his sleep."

I hope that Ralph's right, but I just couldn't take someone who was biting their nails seriously.

The littlun shook his head. "I was asleep when the twisty things were fighting and when they went away I was awake, and I saw something big and horrid moving in the trees."

I swallowed against my dry throat. Don't listen to him, Jack. He's just a stupid littlun. It was just a dream.

Ralph took the conch away from Phil, and said, "You were asleep." Damn, how does he sound so calm? "There wasn't anyone there. How could anyone be wandering about in the forest at night? Was anyone? Did anyone go out?"

The was a pregnant pause, and then Simon stood up.

I stared at him with a mixture of relief and hatred. Ralph exclaimed, voicing my opinion, "You! What were you mucking about in the dark for?"

Simon took the conch with awkward, robotic movements and stuttered, "I wanted--to go to a place--a place I know."

"What place?" Ralph asked, angrily.

"Just a place I know," Simon replied. "A place in the jungle."

I was still angry with Simon, so I humiliated him.

"He was taking short," I announced.

Everyone excluding Simon, Ralph, and that stupid Piggy snickered.

Ralph took the conch and said, "Well, don't do it again. Understand? Not at night. There's enough silly talk about beasts, without the littluns seeing you gliding about like a--"

The assembly laughed again, and Simon slowly sat down.

Once everyone had shut up, Ralph asked, "Well, Piggy?"

Here we go again.

"There was another one. Him."

The littluns pushed one of their own forward, and Ralph gave the conch to the fatso, saying, "Go on. Ask him."

I don't understand why we have to do this. Who cares about the littluns and their stupid fears? If we talk about it, everyone will just get scared again.

Piggy knelt beside to boy and said, "Now then. What's your name?"

The littlun turned away.

"What's your name?" Ralph demanded.

"What's your name? What's your name?" the assembly chanted. Bored, I joined in for the heck of it.

"Quiet!" Ralph shouted, then looked toward the littlun again. "Now tell us. What's your name?"

The kid opened his mouth and recited from memory, "Percival Wemys Madison. The Vicarage, Harcourt St. Anthony, Hants, telephone, telephone, tele--" and he began to wail at the top of his lungs.

"Shut up, you! Shut up!" the assembly screamed.

"Shut up! Shut up!"

All of the littluns began to cry, now. The piercing screams nearly drove me mad. It was all I could do to cover my ears instead of strangling Percival Wemys Madison.

I'll have to remember to thank Maurice one day. Getting their attention and pretending to hurt himself was pure genius.

After the laughter subsided, I broke the rule of the conch--and didn't care, mind you--when I asked the littlun, "And what about the beast?"

Percival swayed and nearly lost consciousness, so I grabbed him and shook him out of his stupor. "Where does the beast live?" I demanded. The littlun sagged like a rag doll.

"That's a clever beast," Fatty said, amused, "if it can hide on this island."

"Jack's been everywhere--"

"Where could a beast live?"

"Beast my foot!"

Percival said something, but the laughing assembly cut him off.

Ralph looked at me and asked, "What does he say?"

I listened to Percival's answer, then dropped him in shock. I cleared my throat nervously and replied, "He says the beast comes out of the sea."

There was a unnerving silence on the beach as everyone looked out to sea and realized that Percival could very well be correct.

Maurice spoke, and I jumped because his voice was too loud and too close.

"Daddy said they haven't found all the animals in the sea yet."

And argument broke out as I and a couple others tried to reassure ourselves that Percival was just being a silly little boy and didn't know what he was talking about.

Ralph gave Maurice the conch.

"I mean, when Jack says you can't be frightened because people are frightened anyway that's all right. But when he says there's only pigs on this island I expect he's right but he doesn't know, not really, not certainly I mean--" Maurice took a deep breath. "My daddy says there's things, what d'you call'em that make ink--squids--that are hundreds of yards long and eat whales whole." He paused and laughed. "I don't believe in the beast of course. As Piggy says, life's scientific, but we don't know, do we? Not certainly, I mean--"

"A squid couldn't come up out of the water!" someone shouted.

"Could!"

"Couldn't!"

And argument broke out, and it didn't end until Ralph suddenly blew the conch, shocking everyone into silence.

Simon put his hand on the conch and hesitantly said, "Maybe, maybe there is a beast."

A bunch of others and I shouted the negative.

Amazed, Ralph said, "You, Simon? You believe in this?"

"I don't know. But..."

The whole assembly shouted at him.

"Sit down!"

"Shut up!"

"Take the conch!"

"Sod you!"

"Shut up!"

Frustrated, Ralph shouted, "Hear him! He's got the conch!"

Simon continued. "What I mean is...maybe it's only us."

I didn't understand what he was trying to get at.

"Nuts!" cried Piggy.

Simon stalled, saying, "We could be sort of..." Then he exclaimed, "What's the dirtiest thing there is?"

Everyone was silent until I shouted a dirty word. Then the assembly erupted in laughter.

Simon fell silent and sat down again. When the laughter ceased, someone said, "Maybe he means it's some sort of ghost."

Piggy took the conch and shouted, "I don't believe in no ghosts--ever!"

Angry that the fat kid had been the first to voice his manliness, I shouted back, "Who cares what you believe--Fatty!"

"I got the conch!" he replied.

His answer infuriated me, and I tried to take the blasted thing away from him.

"You gimme the conch back!" Piggy shouted.

Ralph came between us so I punched him. He wrestled the conch away from me and said, breathlessly, "There's too much talk about ghosts. We ought to have left all this for daylight."

Someone said, "Perhaps that's what the beast is--a ghost."

A frigid wind chilled me to the bone.

"There's too much talking out of turn," Ralph said, "because we can't have proper assemblies if you don't stick to the rules."

Then maybe we should punish those who break the rules.

"What d'you want me to say then? I was wrong to call this assembly so late. We'll have a vote on them; on ghosts I mean; and then go to the shelters because we're all tired." I reached for the conch, so I could tell everyone that the whole thing was a stupid idea and that we should just go to bed. "No--Jack is it?--wait a minute. I'll say here and now that I don't believe in ghosts. Or I don't think I do. But I don't like the thought of them. Not now that is, in the dark. But we were going to decide what's what."

I could barely see the conch raised over his head.

"Very well then," Ralph said. "I suppose what's what is whether there are ghosts or not--" He paused, then asked, "Who thinks there may be ghosts?"

I looked around, and saw that, one by one, hands drew up into the air, until obviously more than half of the assembly's hands were raised. They can't see who I am, just as I can't see who they are. Slowly, uncertainly, I raised my own arm in the air.

"I see," Ralph said, sounding disappointed.

A very large shadow took the conch and shouted, "I didn't vote for no ghosts! Remember that, all of you!" Piggy stamped his feet. "What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages? What's grownups going to think? Going off--hunting pigs--letting fires out--and now!"

Weary rage boiled through my veins as I realized that Piggy was speaking about me. How dare he insult me that way?

"You shut up, you fat slug!" I shouted and tried to pull the conch away from him.

"Jack! Jack!" Ralph exclaimed. "You haven't got the conch! Let him speak."

I let the conch go. Instead, I stormed over to Ralph shouting out all of the feelings that I've bottled up inside, "And you shut up! Who are you, anyway? Sitting there telling people what to do. You can't hunt, you can't sing--"

"I'm chief," he argued. "I was chosen."

"Why should choosing make any difference?" I roared. "Just giving orders that don't make any sense--"

"Piggy's got the conch," he interrupted.

Hatred erupted in my heart. "That's right--favor Piggy as you always do--"

"Jack!" Ralph exclaimed.

"Jack! Jack!" I mocked, bitterly.

"The rules!" he screamed. "You're breaking the rules!"

"Who cares!" I retorted.

"Because rules are the only thing we've got!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

He would have won the argument if I'd have been speechless at this point, but I still carried enough spite to continue for weeks.

"Bollocks to the rules!" I shouted back. "We're strong--we hunt! If there's a beast, we'll hunt it down! We'll close in and beat and beat and beat--!"

With a wild cry, I lept to the sand, and the assembly exclaimed with excitement as they followed me away from the beach, laughing and dancing.

See, Ralph? See how easily I won? I'd like to see you try to win them back, now, because, next time, I'll be ready, and you won't be chief anymore.

And we danced and danced and danced in the sand on our way to the shelters.

CHAPTER SIX

"Wake up! Wake up! Ralph--"

"--is calling an assembly!"

I woke to the wild shouts of Samneric. Growling at the lack of sleep I'd gotten and rubbing my eyes open, I stood up and demanded what the assembly was about..

Was Ralph going to try to regain the respect of the tribe? Well, I won't let him!

"We saw--"

"--the beast!" they replied, fearfully.

Another dream, I reasoned, but I roused my hunters anyway. I told them to bring their spears.

When we arrived at the platform, I was surprised at the difference of this assembly from the others. Instead of blowing the conch to make the slower boys move faster, Ralph just held it in the air and the assembly's questions died away.

And, instead of stating off with another of his senseless speeches, Ralph handed the conch to the twins without a word.

"We've seen the beast with our own eyes," Eric began. "No--we weren't asleep--"

They, they weren't...? But this was impossible...

"It was furry. There was something moving behind its head--wings. The beast moved too--" Sam continued.

I listened with a subdued mind as they described the beast. The eyes, the teeth, the claws... It was horrible. I swallowed against the fear. It was just a dream--just a dream...wasn't it?

Ralph was chewing on his nails again.

"We ran as fast as we could--"

"Bashed into things--"

"The beast followed us--"

"I saw it slinking behind the trees--"

"Nearly touched me--"

All of a sudden, everyone noticed the scars across Eric's face. Ralph pointed, and the boy reached up to touch his cheek.

"I'm all rough," he said. "Am I bleeding?"

The assembly backed away slightly, and a littlun started to wail until Bill swatted him until he lost the tears to a cough. My hunters were frightened and made a circle around the assembly with their spears pointing out.

Determined to keep the boys in order, even though I really didn't want it to come to this, I exclaimed, "This'll be a real hunt! Who'll come?" My hunters turned back toward the center.

"These spears are made of wood. Don't be silly," Ralph argued, impatiently.

Sneering, I turned to him and said, "Frightened?" If he didn't fear, everyone else would feel more secure, I reasoned. Even though that reasoning made me frown.

"'Course I'm frightened," he replied. "Who wouldn't be?"

I clenched my jaw, and, just to make sure, I looked at the twins and asked, "I suppose you aren't pulling our legs?"

They shook their heads, and the fear in their eyes told me that they were telling the truth. I really didn't want to go on this hunt. How would I track this beast? If I failed to find it, I wouldn't be Jack the Hunter anymore. I'd be Jack the Fool; Jack the Failure. They wouldn't look up to me then, and Ralph would win.

I haven't seen any footprints or any droppings of any beast. How would I track it?

But the excitement welled up inside of me, anyway, and all I wanted to do was hunt, hunt, hunt.

And then that fool, Piggy, took the conch and whispered, "Couldn't we--kind of--stay here? Maybe the beast won't come near us."

Ralph actually had the sense to tell the fat kid off. "Stay here? And be cramped into this bit of the island, always on the lookout? How should we get our food? And what about the fire?"

Yes, we had no choice but to hunt. Perhaps the hunt would turn up something? After all, I did track the pig, why can't I track the beast. An urgency filled my mind. There were only so much hours or daylight, and I needed all the time I could get to track that beast.

"Let's be moving," I said, "we're wasting time."

"No we're not," Ralph replied. "What about the littluns?"

The stupid littluns again. "Sucks to the littluns!"

"Someone's got to look after them," he argued, relentlessly.

"Nobody has so far," I pointed out.

"There was no need!" Ralph shouted, getting impatient with me. "Now there is. Piggy'll look after them."

So now he values Piggy's life more than mine? "That's right," I growled. "Keep Piggy out of danger."

"Have some sense," he said, and anger boiled up inside of me. "What can Piggy do with only one eye?"

I noticed that the boys were all staring at us. I meant to say something to save face, but Ralph beat me too it, and I hated him for it. Especially since he said what I already knew.

"And another thing," he said. "You can't have an ordinary hunt because the beast doesn't leave tracks. If it did you'd have seen them. For all we know, the beast may swing through the trees like what's its name." The assembly nodded and my face grew red. "So we've got to think."

"What about us, Ralph?" Fatty asked, for once breaking the rule of the conch. I smirked at that.

"You haven't got the conch," Ralph commented, but gave the idiot the conch, anyway. "Here."

"I mean--how about us?" the fatso repeated. "Suppose the beast comes when you're all away. I can't see proper, and if I get scared--"

I hope the beast does come, because it would be attracted to Piggy's fat hide and the fact that he was an easy kill. It wouldn't spare a glance at those scrawny littluns, so why should we bother to leave someone behind, anyway? Not that I cared, since Fatty would slow us down, anyway. And I bet he would scream like a girl when he saw a pig, scaring it away.

"You're always scared," I interrupted, hatred in my voice.

"I got the conch--" he protested and I wanted to strangle him. The damn conch again. There was no point to the conch!

"Conch! Conch!" I yelled. "We don't need the conch any more. We know who ought to say things. What good did Simon do speaking, or Bill, or Walter? It's time some people knew they've got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us."

Ralph's face went red, and I wondered if he knew that I was talking about him, too.

"You haven't got the conch," he growled, moving his hair out of his eyes. "Sit down."

I had to resist the urge to obey. Damn it, but I didn't know that I was so willing to just listen to the blowhard's stupid rules!

But I remained as I was and said, "This is a hunter's job."

The mood became very intense after my words, and the fat kid couldn't stand the pressure, so he gave the conch back to Ralph.

When Ralph didn't say anything, I had to resist the urge to swallow. I won't back down.

Finally, he said, "This is more than a hunter's job, because you can't track the beast. And don't you want to be rescued? Don't you all want to be rescued?"

Of course I wanted to be rescued.

He glared at me and continued. "I said before, the fire is the main thing. Now the fire must be out--" His eyes glinted with renewed passion. "Hasn't anyone got any sense? We've got to relight that fire. You never thought of that, Jack, did you? Or don't any of you want to be rescued?"

Of course I wanted to be rescued. That's why I have to kill the beast! If I don't kill the beast, it'll kill us all, and then it wouldn't matter if the fire continued to burn and a ship came by! You're the one without sense, Ralph. You are, not me.

But I just couldn't say it. I don't know why, but I couldn't say it, and Ralph won.

"Now think, Jack," he continued. "Is there anywhere on the island you haven't been?"

I bit my lip but answered anyway. I'd lost this round, yet Ralph still needed my knowledge, so perhaps I could beat him next time.

"There's only--" My eyes widened. "But of course! You remember? The tail-end part, where the rocks are all piled up. I've been near there. The rock makes a sort of bridge. There's only one way up."

"And the thing might live there," he clarified.

The assembly was in an uproar.

"Quiet!" Ralph shouted. "All right. That's where we'll look. If the beast isn't there we'll go up the mountain and look; and light the fire."

I still don't care much about the fire, but it felt good to be useful. Even if I wasn't chief--yet--I could still hunt and the tribe would support me more than Ralph once I killed the beast.

"Let's go," I said, eager for the kill.

"We'll eat first," Ralph proposed. "Then go." He paused, then said, "We'd better take spears."

Well, that was something I already knew. I rolled my eyes, but he didn't see.

We were finished eating in no time at all. We left Fatty and the littluns behind--I wished it was forever--and started down the beach. Ralph picked a route, but then allowed me to lead. I smirked when his back was turned, and lead my tribe through the wilderness.

About an hour later, the castle was in sight, and I told Ralph, even though the thought of reporting to him was awful.

"All right," he said. "We'll get as close as we can."

I led him to the beginning of the incline where the castle was in sight. He looked toward the woods on the left and asked, "Why couldn't there be something in that?"

"Because you can see," I replied. The woods were choked with trees and creepers there. It would be nearly impossible to move around. "Nothing goes in or out."

"What about the castle then?"

"Look," I answered.

He saw the continuation of the island, the height of the castle, the cliff, and the tottering boulders.

Behind us, my hunters gathered, and Ralph turned to me and said, "You're a hunter," making it impossible for me to stay behind and still carry the respect of the tribe.

My face went red and I grumbled, "I know. All right."

But then Ralph said, "I'm chief. I'll go. Don't argue." He turned to the others and said, "You. Hide here. Wait for me."

He paused, and turned to me. He had fear in his eyes when he said, "Do you--think?"

Turning away from him, I muttered, "I've been all over. It must be here." You've had this coming, Ralph. I don't care how scared you are. You're going alone because you made a fool of me.

"I see," he answered, swallowing, then chewing his nails.

"I don't believe in the beast," Simon murmured with a confused edge to his voice.

Liar. If you don't believe in it, why did you say that there might be a beast just last night?

"No. I suppose not," Ralph replied in a strange tone of voice. He pulled the hair out of his eyes and said, "Well. So long."

The words had a strange finality to them, I thought, as he walked away.

The combination of the whispers behind me and the way Ralph looked back only once made me rise to my feet an chase after him when his back turned again.

I caught up, and he turned around again when he heard me. "Couldn't let you do it on your own," I explained.

He didn't answer. Probably because he didn't want the beast to hear. Instead he inspected a little cave and sat down to rest.

Looking over the site, excitement rose in my heart. "What a place to fort!" I exclaimed.

The Pacific sent a wave that crawled up the cliff and splashed us, but I didn't mind so much, since it was a hot day.

Ralph disagreed. "No fresh water."

"What's that then?" I asked, pointing to a small trickle of water. We climbed up, tasted it, and found it to be fresh.

"You could keep a coconut shell there," I exulted, "filling up all the time."

Ralph shook his head. "Not me. This is a rotten place."

We climbed the rest of the way. I pushed it and it moved, and I remembered how we--and Simon--had pushed a rock down a slope when we first got here.

"Do you remember--?" I started, then remembered how our friendship had collapsed since that day. Quickly, changing the subject, I exclaimed, quickly, "Shove a palm trunk under that and if an enemy came--look!" I pointed down the narrow path. "One heave, and--wheee--!" I backed it up with a sweeping motion with my hand.

But Ralph was staring at the mountain.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Why?" Ralph replied, turning back to me.

"You were looking--I don't know why." Why was he staring at that damn mountain?

"There's no signal now. Nothing to show," he answered.

I frowned, annoyed, but the rage was too far away now. "You're nuts on the signal," I muttered.

"That's all we've got," Ralph replied. He pulled back his hair and said, "We'll have to go back and climb the mountain. That's where they saw the beast."

It wouldn't be there still. That would be stupid. "The beast won't be there," I said.

Ralph looked at me. "What else can we do?"

The rest of the boys started to run up the mountain, seeing that we were all right. Leaving Ralph to his useless musings, I joined a group of boys in pushing a rock into the ocean, laughing when it splashed water halfway up the cliff.

"Stop it! Stop it!" a voice cried out.

Ralph.

"Smoke," he said. "Smoke." His eyebrows furrowed in anger. "We want smoke. And you go wasting your time. You roll rocks."

This again.

"We've got plenty of time!" Roger shouted, pointing at the late morning sun.

But Ralph shook his head and said, "We'll go up the mountain."

An argument broke out among the other boys. They wanted to go back to the beach. They wanted to stay here. I didn't know what I wanted, because I had no idea where the beast was, and I still had to kill it. But I was hungry, too.

"Jack," Ralph said. "The beast might be on the other side. You can lead again. You've been."

My stomach growled. "We could go by the shore. There's fruit."

Bill walked up to us and asked, "Why can't we stay here for a bit?"

"That's right," someone else said.

"Let's have a fort."

"There's no food here," Ralph argued, "and no shelter. Not much fresh water."

But the crowd ignored him.

"This would make a wizard fort."

"We can roll rocks--" Sam began.

"Right onto the bridge--" continued Eric.

Furious, Ralph shouted, "I say we'll go on! We've got to make certain. We'll go now."

But they still protested. I was starting to get angry. I was hungry, damn it! And there was no food here!

"Let's stay here--"

"Back to the shelter--"

"I'm tired--"

"No!" Ralph shouted, striking a rock with his fist. They bled, but Ralph didn't seem to notice. "I'm chief. We've got to make certain. Can't you see the mountain? There's no signal showing. There may be a ship out there. Are you all off your rockers?"

The boys obeyed, closing their mouths or whispering so Ralph couldn't hear.

I still don't care much for the signal, but I led the boys away, anyway. I just wanted something to eat.