CHAPTER 2

Gilligan turned around quickly, shielding MaryAnn. When he saw the twelve natives standing on the beach with their hands on their weapons, his eyes grew wide. But as he took everything in, he quickly realized that he saw some familiar faces.

Just at that moment, Skipper, Professor and Ginger came barreling out of the jungle, with Skipper quickly moving in front of Gilligan and MaryAnn to protect them.

"No, no, no, Skipper," Gilligan protested, putting his arm out to hold Skipper back. "It's okay, look." He pointed toward the native wearing the largest headdress. "It's Kapena. It's the Kanaka Tribe. They've come to visit."

By the time the other castaways figured out what Gilligan was talking about, he was already halfway across the beach waving his arms and smiling at their guests.

"Lilo, Haruki," he hollered. As he approached their friends, he opened his arms and took them into a hug. Turning to the woman who had almost become his mother-in-law, he said, "Kalia, hi. I'm so glad you came."

He found himself surrounded by the laughing natives. Everyone was hugging each other and patting Gilligan on the back. Through the dark arms and feathered headdresses, he saw Skipper and the others greeting their guests.

While the chief's family and Haruki were familiar, there were a lot of new faces, too. After the initial greeting, the castaways stepped back and stared at the newcomers with curiosity. One woman watched Kapena as if waiting for permission to come forward. She looked to be in her early 30's, with long wavy brown hair and green eyes. She was dressed like the Kanaka women, but she didn't look Polynesian.

When Kapena nodded to her, she approached Gilligan. With a smile on her face, she pulled her hand out from behind and handed him a beautiful spear made out of koa wood. "I . . . am . . . Lalani. This for you, Gilleegan," she said. She spoke hesitantly, as if unsure of her words.

"Wow," he said, looking at the spear with wide eyes. "Thanks. That's awfully nice of y . . ." Gilligan had been reaching out to the spear, but stopped with his fingers just shy, looking at her curiously. "You speak English? How'd you learn that?"

Lalani smiled at him. She hesitated, as if rehearsing the words to herself before she spoke. "When others come back . . . after meeting you . . . Kalia told me . . . your words . . . um . . . sound like mine." She looked around at the castaways nervously. "My name . . . was Lana. Lana Walker."

The castaways all looked at each other in astonishment. Skipper looked back at Lalani. "Wow, you must have some story to tell," he said. "What would you like us to call you? Lana? Lan . . . Lan . . ."

She smiled at him. "La-la-ni," she said. "That is who I am now."

Skipper looked into her green eyes and smiled. Taking her hand in his, he said, "Well, welcome, Lalani. Welcome to our island." The other castaways stood back and watched him. Ginger and Professor grinned at each other, while Gilligan looked at MaryAnn with raised eyebrows. MaryAnn shushed him before he blurted out something embarrassing.

As Skipper led Lalani back to the clearing, the others all followed in one large happy, chattering group. Lilo was clearly happy to spend girl time with Ginger and MaryAnn again. She was talking away to them as if they knew perfectly well what she was talking about. After a few suggestive looks back in Haruki's direction, the girls correctly assumed that she must have been referring to his prowess since they got married.

Professor came along behind them with Kapena and Kalia, the chief and his wife. He was eager to communicate with them, and as they walked through the jungle together, he pointed to any and all plants they were passing so they could tell him the Kanaka words.

Haruki followed them, helping an elderly woman along. There seemed to be a resemblance between them. Professor looked back at them and suspected that she might be his grandmother, with the gentle way he was treating her.

The crowd in the back was made up of a scattering of young natives, both men and women. They were laughing heartily as Gilligan was trying to get their names all straight. The girls were Ulani and Miliani, both appearing to be in their late teens. They were pretty girls, and they knew it. At every opportunity, they would grin and wink at the flustered, young sailor; then they would fall into fits of giggles when they succeeded in making him blush.

He tried to ignore them and focused instead on learning the names of the young men, who were quite close to his own age. There was Ikaia and Akoni, who were both distracted by flirting with Miliani, and then there was Pilipo. He seemed to be the most interested in Gilligan. Throughout their walk through the jungle, Pilipo was trying to teach Gilligan Kanaka words, and doing a lot of gesturing to communicate.

Last of all was a young man who was hanging back a little. Pilipo had introduced him as Nahele. He had an angry face and any attempt from Gilligan to communicate was met with a scowl.

When they passed by a large banyan tree, Pilipo stopped Gilligan and insisted on showing him how to throw the new koa spear at the tree. With Pilipo's instruction, on his third attempt, Gilligan was rewarded with the thunk of a solid hit. The young crowd cheered and slapped him on the back. Skipper and Professor stopped and looked back. They saw Gilligan surrounded by the enthusiastic crowd and watched as he pulled his spear out of the tree trunk. He looked up at his two mentors and held the spear in the air with a triumphant smile.

The Kanaka Tribe

Kapena – The Chief

Kalia – The Chief's wife

Lilo – the Chief's daughter

Haruki – Lilo's husband

Lalani – Orphan girl raised by Kapena and Kalia

Meka – Haruki's and Nahele's Grandmother

Nahele – Haruki's younger brother

Ulani – Lalani's daughter

Pilipo – Ulani's betrothed

Miliani – Ulani's best friend

Ikaia – Young native warrior

Akoni – Young native warrior