CHAPTER 12

In the clearing, Lilo was sleeping on the lounge. Mrs. Howell was sitting next to her, keeping an eye on the young woman. The older men were seated around the table, while Ginger, Kalia and Meka were busy preparing some fruit and pastries for dinner that night. Chances are, when the hunters got back, they would be hungry.

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Around mid-afternoon, the girls from the hunting party came stumbling into the clearing. They were hot and sweaty and in a near-panic. MaryAnn ran to Professor's hut to prepare his cot for Gilligan. Ulani and Miliani immediately started filling a bucket of water to boil and hunt for some clean rags to clean Gilligan's wound. The men watched with wide eyes, wondering what was going on.

Mr. Howell ran into the hut with MaryAnn to find out, while Kapena questioned Ulani. The girls quickly explained what had happened to Gilligan.

Shortly after, the rest of the hunting party staggered into the clearing. The men had taken turns carrying the stretcher that Gilligan was lying on. Coming in to the clearing, Skipper was carrying the front, and Pilipo had the back end, and Professor was walking alongside them, trying to hold a compress on Gilligan's side to ebb the bleeding. Gilligan was still unconscious.

Ginger had been watching for them. She ran over to Professor's hut and held the door open. The men carried him through the door and gently transferred him onto Professor's cot. Professor asked Skipper to take MaryAnn out and keep her outside. Then he cleared everyone else out except Ginger and Lalani.

However, Meka came shuffling in. She shooed Professor back and bent down to look at Gilligan's wound. She gave a toothless smile to Professor and nodded her head. Then she rattled off a set of instructions to Lalani.

Lalani looked at Professor. "He needs . . . sewing?" Lalani scrunched up her face.

"Stitches?" he offered.

Lalani smiled and nodded. "Yes, but the wound must be cleaned out. It is very dirty from sliding. It will be very painful."

Professor nodded. "I don't have anything for stitches, though. I can make up an antibiotic to help with the risk of infection, as well as something for the pain."

Lalani talked to Meka again. Gilligan let out a low moan, though he was still unconscious. Ginger sat holding his hand and wiping his brow with a damp cloth.

Lalani looked back at Professor. "Meka is a healer in our village. I will get her bag - she can stitch him up. Will you make your medicine?"

Professor nodded and set to work. Ulani and Miliani came in with the hot water and some rags. Meka motioned for Ginger to hold Gilligan down while she cleaned the wound.

Lalani left the hut and ran to the canoes to retrieve Meka's medical bag.

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Out in the clearing, Haruki fixed a plate for Lilo, who was just waking up. Kalia was hovering over her with a banana leaf, creating a breeze for the young woman.

Between Lilo's sudden illness and Gilligan's accident, the festive feelings were gone and replaced with a somber, quiet atmosphere. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, there were pockets of activity . . . Professor, Meka and Ginger tending to Gilligan's wound - Kalia and Haruki tending to Lilo and whispering to Kapena - MaryAnn and Skipper pacing back and forth outside of Professor's hut, wringing their hands and giving each other worried looks.

Finally, at dinner-time, as the women brought the food to the table, Professor and Skipper called everyone together. They invited Kapena and Lalani to the head of the table to address the group.

Professor started, with Lalani translating for the natives.

"I'd like to give you an update on Gilligan's condition," he stated. "While his wounds are serious, I do believe he will fully recover. He is resting right now. I have given him medicine for pain and to help him sleep." He paused so that Lalani could translate to the natives. Then he continued. "Meka has stitched him up nicely - he has quite a gash in his side from the boar's tusk. He may also have a few cracked ribs. I have wrapped him up as best as I could."

The castaways and the natives all exchanged nervous looks. They were clearly worried about Gilligan and how serious his wound was, but they all knew that between Meka and Professor, he had the best care they could provide. They also knew how close he came to falling all the way down the cliff which would have resulted in certain death.

Professor paused another moment to let everyone process the information. Then he motioned to Kapena to address the group. Kapena talked for a moment to the natives . . . when he finished, there was a brief moment of stunned silence, then the natives all erupted in cheers. The castaways sat looking at each other for a moment, until Kapena said to them, upon Lalani's coaching, "Lilo have baby . . . little chief coming."

The castaways jumped up and cheered, joining in the celebration.