IT'S ONLY FOR THREE HOURS

This one takes place right before they set sail for their 'three hour tour'

JUNE 19, 1964

"GILLIGAAAN!" Came the Skipper from the upper deck again as he and Miss Summers began to climb the stairs. "Your friends are here to see you."

Gilligan arrived up on deck and nearly tripped over the Howell's dog, Fifi who was running around loose while Mrs. Howell was rummaging through one of her trunks.

"HEY WILL!" His friend's brother Wendell Stuckmeyer practically shouted over the horn of a nearby boat.

Dr. and Mrs. Flanagan were also there talking to one of the passengers.

"It was great meeting you Professor Hinkley!" Dr. Flanagan replied as Professor Hinkley sat down.

"You're just in time!" Gilligan replied. "Wendell I need you to help me real quick!"

"Of course!" Wendell replied as he walked up the ramp onto the boat and followed Will below deck.

"So a couple of passengers brought along a ton of luggage and some of them need to be on a couple of tables." Will began as he handed Wendell a large crate. "So I was wondering if you could watch Gracie, Candi and Mallo for a few hours."

"Of course!" Wendell replied as Will uncovered Gracie the rubber boa's cage.

Gracie was a small dark brown slightly wrinkled snake that was at the moment curled up in the middle of her cage.

"Hey Gracie Wendell is going to look after you for three hours." Gilligan said to her while also using sign language.

"She knows sign language?" Wendell asked as Will cover her cage and put it in the crate.

"Well snakes don't have visible ears so I always use sign language to talk to her!" Gilligan replied as he uncovered his rats, Candi and Mallo's cage. He smiled as he adjusted the water bottle. He covered the cage back up and placed the cage in the crate.

"So Gracie ate a couple of mice yesterday and I just changed Candi and Mallo's water." Will replied. "Are you sure you don't mind watching them for a few hours.

"Of course I don't mind!" Wendell replied as they headed up the stairs. "I'll be in my office finishing up a research paper and then I'm expecting a shipment of specimens that I'm going to frame."

"Cool if you. . ." Will began as Fifi ran in front of him causing him to trip over her and fall off the boat and landed in the water with a big splash.

"GILLIGAAAN!" The Skipper shouted as he resurfaced and spat out water.

"Lovey, dear!" Mr. Howell replied as the Skipper threw his First Mate a life preserver. "Perhaps we should leave Fifi with the driver. It's only for three hours after all."

"Of course Thurston!" Mrs. Howell replied as she closed the trunk and picked Fifi up and frowned as she handed her to Mr. Howell. "Is he all right Captain?"

"He's fine!" Skipper replied as Gilligan wrapped himself in a towel and headed below deck. "It happens all the time!"

A/N: For more info on the rats Candi and Mallo please refer to chapter 20.

The rubber boa can be found in Western North America and British Columbia.

They are one to two feet long. They have a rubbery look because of their wrinkly loose skin.

Because they are the most docile of the boa species they are used to help people with their fear of snakes.

Snakes don't have visible ears but aren't technically deaf. They feel vibrations and really low sounds in the air.

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