CHAPTER 5

Gilligan stood knee-deep in the lagoon, holding his spear with a death grip, and peering into the murky water. He wasn't far from the little waterfall, having waded over for a prime fishing spot. With Pilipo and Akoni standing on the rocks whispering instructions that Gilligan couldn't understand, he waited patiently for a fish to swim by.

With the late afternoon sun beating on his shoulders and beads of sweat trickling down his temples and down his back, he remained as still as a statue. His keen eyes picked up a flash of silver as a large fish swam toward him. Pilipo saw it, too, and was pointing and jabbering. When the fish was within a foot of Gilligan's legs, he thrust his spear into the water with a forceful jab.

His shoulders slumped and he grimaced when he pulled up an empty spear. The other men chuckled, and Pilipo jumped into the water, giving Gilligan a sympathetic pat on the back. He pointed to his catch on the shore and said something. Gilligan assumed that Pilipo was saying that they already had enough for dinner. They sloshed out of the water, picked up the string of fish and headed into the jungle.

xxxx

When Gilligan and the others got back to the clearing, the girls were still over in the kitchen area. There were the most wonderful aromas coming from the homemade oven.

His new friends set about filleting the fish and preparing to cook them.

Looking over to the fire, he saw Skipper and Lalani deep in conversation. Gilligan grinned as he went around the corner to see MaryAnn.

"Hi, Gilligan," she said brightly.

"Hi," he answered. "We caught plenty of fish. Pilipo and Akoni are getting them ready to throw on the fire. It won't take long to cook. Is everything else almost ready? And . . . is that . . . is that banana bread I smell?"

"Yes, it is," she answered brightly. "I'm trying a new recipe. It smells so good, I can't wait to taste it. Right now, we're just waiting for other men to get back with the fruit."

Just as she said that, they heard voices coming in their direction. Looking up, they saw Kalia coming through the jungle with the other young men. Haruki and Ikaia were carrying a large basket between them. It was overflowing with fresh fruit. They placed it on the work-table with big smiles. Nahele followed behind, carrying a smaller basket. He placed it next to the larger basket and gave MaryAnn a smile. Then he pushed by Gilligan, roughly bumping the young sailor's shoulder and giving him a scowl.

"Ow," Gilligan muttered as he reached up to rub his shoulder. "Did you see that?" he asked MaryAnn. "He did that on purpose."

"What, honey?" MaryAnn said as she browsed through the basket, picking out some fruit to cut up.

"Nuthin', he answered, still rubbing his shoulder. He stalked off to the crowd around the fire, with a scowl on his own face.

Over by the fire, Skipper sat on a log next to Lalani. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. She had charming dimples, long, wavy curls and her eyes were a deep green like he had never seen. He was even enchanted by her broken english, as she searched her memories for the right words.

"Lalani," he said shyly. "Would you like to take a stroll after dinner?"

She looked up at him with a delighted smile. "I would like that very much, Skipper."

He looked at the fire and then back at Lalani. "Would you call me Jonas?" he asked.

He stood up and held his hand out to her, helping her up from the log. Everyone started to file over to the table where MaryAnn and the other young women were laying out platters of food.

During the meal, Lalani took charge of the conversation and re-introduced all the native visitors to the castaways. They knew Kapena and Kalia, and Lilo and Haruki, but there was also Meka, Haruki's grandmother and Nahele, his younger brother. When Lalani introduced Nahele, he gave a small wave to the castaways, and a smile for MaryAnn. Nobody but Gilligan seemed to notice the angry sneer Nahele sent in his direction as Lalani introduced her daughter, Ulani and her betrothed, Pilipo.

The last of the group were Miliani, a young teen-age girl, Akoni, a young man in his early twenties, and Ikaia, who looked to be a few years older than Miliani.

Lalani explained to the castaways that the Chief and his family came back from their visit months earlier, and had expressed a great admiration for this small tribe living on a near-by island. The stories of Gilligan's mishaps trying to learn to throw a spear had been met with amusement and a certain amount of sympathy. Lalani, Ulani and Pilipo wanted to meet the young man and present him with a new spear made of hard koa, so that he could practice.

The Kanaka Tribe agreed to make another visit, and Kapena actually had to hold something of a lottery within the tribe to pick the people who wanted to go.

"I am very fortunate to be one of the chosen," Lalani said. "I was so hoping to meet all of you," she said softly, with a blushing glance at Skipper.