"Mary Ann!" Before the others could even react Gilligan dove for the stricken girl, hurling himself over the edge in his bid to catch her hand. He did grasp it, but their combined momentum sent them tumbling wildly over and over in a shower of dirt and stones as the others watched in horror.

"Mary Ann! Gilligan!"

For a few moments there was nothing but a blur of arms and legs careening down the steep slope in a roiling cloud of dust. At last the pair hit the beach, rolled a few yards and lay motionless as the last of the little avalanche settled over them.

"At last!" Scallion roared with glee. "I thought the little gadfly would never go over!"

The Lord Admiral shouted frantically at the still forms below. "Get up, lad! That's an order! I absolutely forbid you to join me!" He rounded on the pirate in rage. "So that explains this little dance – and your infernal fondness for clifftops! That blow went straight through you, and surely yours would go straight through him! Blast me for a fool for not seeing it myself! Our ghostly weapons can't harm mortal flesh, you old fakir!"

Scallion smirked. "True for ye. T'was plain that first morning when he fell off the breakfast board that me blade couldn't touch him. I've had the very devil of a time tryin' to lure him to his end, but his shipmates made fine bait."

The Skipper had caught hold of a small tree growing on the edge of the cliff and began to lower himself down. "Hang on, little buddy! I'm coming!"

"No, Skipper! It's useless!" The Professor grabbed his arm.

"Let go of me!" The Skipper yanked his arm away with such force he almost sent both of them skittering down the slope.

But Roy Hinkley hung on. "It's far too steep and treacherous, Skipper! You'll never reach them! You'll need a vine!" He turned imperiously to the others. "Ladies! Mr. Howell! Get us a vine from the edge of the jungle! Hurry!"

For a moment the Skipper hesitated, but seeing the others hurrying towards the jungle and feeling his own feet slipping on the treacherous slope, he grasped the Professor's hand and allowed himself to be hauled up. "Professor, if anything's happened to them, I'll never forgive myself!"

The Howells and Ginger came rushing back trailing a long length of vine. "Here!" Ginger gasped. "Are they all right?"

They looked over the cliffside again and Mrs. Howell clutched her parasol in delight. "Thurston! Look, darling!"

"Thank heavens," whispered the millionaire, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

The Lord Admiral was beside himself with joy. "Huzzah, lad! That's the spirit!"

The two dust covered figures on the sand were finally stirring. Gilligan had curled himself over Mary Ann to protect her from the onslaught of stones and debris. When the dust stopped he sat up, coughing and rubbing his head, all the ferocity jarred out of him. "Boy! The Lord Admiral was right – swordfighting is tougher than it looks!" Then leaning over, he gently shook Mary Ann's shoulders. "Mary Ann! Mary Ann, are you all right?"

Mary Ann coughed and sputtered, wiping grime from her face. "I – I think so, Gilligan."

Mary and Gilligan looked around. They had landed in the narrow cul-de sac at the base of the ridge, fronted by the lapping water of the bay. To their right the sand was heaped into several large mounds. Gilligan momentarily frowned at them, trying to remember when he'd seen something like them before. The cutlass, dropped during their mad tumble, had landed at Gilligan's feet.

Gilligan struggled to those feet and drew Mary Ann up to him. They looked up and waved weakly to their friends. "Hey! Everybody! We're all right!"

"Hang on, little buddy! We'll get you out of there!"

The Skipper and Professor had begun to pay down the vine when Ginger suddenly shrieked. "Oh, my God! Those two logs! They're moving!"

It was true. The two immense and seemingly inert tree trunks that had been floating in the water were now speeding in a swift, determined line towards the shore where Gilligan and Mary Ann stood. In moments they hove into the breakers like landing craft on D-Day, and onto the sand swung two gigantic crocodiles, jaws gaping.

Instinctively Gilligan thrust Mary Ann behind him and snatched up the cutlass.

"Oh, brother!" he moaned. "I can't do anything right! Even when I lie I tell the truth!"

The skipper was about to tear his hat in half. "Professor, whose nightmare am I in? How can they really be crocodiles? And how could any crocodile be that big! That one must weigh a ton! He must be over twenty feet long! And the other one's not much smaller!"

The Professor shook his head in horror. "They're salt-water crocodiles, Skipper. The biggest reptiles in the world. And—oh, Gilligan! Mary Ann!"

"And?"

"And they're known to be maneaters!"

Gilligan had already guessed that. The crocodiles were impossibly big, their jaws able to swallow a man to the chest with one bite. As the great beasts undulated forwards Gilligan backed up slowly, shielding Mary Ann with his own body. "Mary Ann, I just realized something!"

"W-w-what?"

"Pirates aren't so scary anymore!"

"G-Gilligan!"

The Lord Admiral stood braced to vanish. "Dear God! Courage, lad! I'm coming!"

"Lord Admiral, sir! I calls for a truce!"

The Lord Admiral whirled on the pirate, who had lowered his sword. "Most kind. I'll not leave you waiting long!"

"Knave I may be, aye, but ye're a fool! What do ye think ye can do against them sea devils? Our ghostly weapons can't harm mortal flesh, man or beast!"

The Lord Admiral looked at his rapier in helpless anguish, then back to the pair below.

"And besides—t'is our chance to be whole again."

The Lord Admiral stared, not believing he'd heard right. "What? What treachery's this?"

"No trick, milord. I speak o' the old savage's curse. He said our spirits would sleep 'til some living lubber chanced on our effects. But if that lubber died, we spirits would be flesh and blood again." The pirate grinned, his one eye narrowing. "Think of it, milord. A chance to live again! Ye and I could sail the seas o' this new world together, and take treasure beyond our dreams! What say ye?"

The Lord Admiral shook his head slowly, as if in a nightmare. "I'd not join you for any price – and I'd not want my life at the price of his! Have at you, you coward!" And forgetting his own rule, he launched himself furiously at the leering buccaneer, blows flying with supernatural speed.

Gilligan could hear his shipmates shouting at him from the edge of the cliff and Scallion's laughter beyond, but it all seemed a far-away buzz as he watched the terrible creatures stalking towards him. They were three times his size. Dinosaurs.

Gilligan heard himself babbling, "Ah, come on, fellas! Captain Hook is up topside! Why don't you go eat him?"

Suddenly he felt his back collide with Mary Ann and felt her clutch him, whimpering in terror. They had reached the inner edge of the cul-de-sac. "Gilligan! We're trapped!"

There was no way they could both escape alive. Holding the cutlass in both hands, Gilligan raised it above his head, heart hammering. "Listen to me, Mary Ann. Listen really carefully. I'm going to charge the big one. When I do, you sneak around and you run as fast as you can!"

"No, Gilligan!"

"Mary Ann, listen!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

"The Sight, lad!" The Lord Admiral's voice rang out like a ship's bell in a storm. "For pity's sake!"

"The power to see ghosts, soothe savage beasts…" The crocodiles were so close now that the dying sunlight, glinting off their iridescent armour, shone on their individual scales. The big male's jaws gaped like a cave's mouth.

Gilligan made his choice. "Okay, Mary Ann. I've got another idea. But stay back. No matter what happens, stay back!"

Up above, the Lord Admiral and Scallion were locked, hilt to hilt, when Scallion looked down. Suddenly his eye widened and his mouth twisted into a disbelieving snarl. "By thunder - what's the pup after doing?"

For Gilligan had swept his arm backwards and now pitched the cutlass high, high into the air. It spun end over end, catching the light, until it hit the shimmering waves and vanished.

"No!" Scallion roared.

The remaining castaways were watching in disbelief. The Skipper and Professor, already frantically paying the vine rope down, were momentarily frozen. "Professor! What's my little buddy done? He's thrown away his only weapon!"

"It's of no use to him, Skipper. He couldn't fight those creatures off single-handed, even with a weapon."

"You mean he's given up?"

"I don't know. I only hope there's method in his madness!"

Down below, Gilligan went down on one knee and held out his hand to the monsters. Behind him Mary Ann was flattened against the rocks, not daring to breathe.

Gilligan knew this would only work if he were not afraid. He remembered his words to the Skipper from long ago: I understand animals and get along with them. You have to think like them. He took a long, slow breath, calmed his mind, and stared deep, deep into the cold, glittering, gold-flecked eyes.

The crocodiles had reached him. A massive head swung before him, hot breath blasting in his face. Gilligan did not move. "Hey, we don't want to hurt you," he murmured. "We don't want to invade your home or anything. We fell down here by accident. We're your friends."

At the sound of his voice the great beasts blinked and stood with heads swaying slightly, as though puzzled. Gilligan glanced beyond the second one's nose and again saw the sand mounds by the rocks. He suddenly remembered where he'd seen mounds like them before, only smaller… when the great sea turtles had come ashore and lay scooping mounds of sand with their mighty flippers. They were trying to bury their…

Gilligan's voice rang with authority. "Mary Ann! Move away from the sand mounds! Hurry!"

"G-Gilligan..."

"Do as I say!"

Mary Ann swallowed and began to inch her way slowly, hugging the rock face.

Gilligan remained motionless. The crocodiles watched Mary Ann creeping away, but made no move to stop her. "So that's what it was!" Gilligan said, half to himself, half to the creatures. "Those mounds are full of your eggs. You were just protecting your young!"

The male's jaws had slowly closed; the tip of its nose was now resting near Gilligan's bended knee. The cold, terrible eyes narrowed and the throat softly rumbled. Gilligan reached out and gently, reverently, laid his hand upon the hard snout. "It's all right," he murmured. "They'll be okay. You can go now."

The first mate and the monstrous reptiles remained in that strange tableau for a momentary eternity. Then the crocodiles' heads swung 'round as the great beasts began to crawl back towards the sea.

Still pressed to the rock, Mary Ann whispered, "Shalt thou draw out Leviathan with an hook? Will he speak soft words unto thee? Lay thy hand upon him, do no more…"

By this point the Professor and Skipper were so rapt they had forgotten about the vine altogether. "My gosh," the Skipper murmured. "Have you got a scientific explanation for that, Professor?"

The Professor shook his head, awe-struck. "If I hadn't seen it, I'd never have believed it! Come on, Skipper, let's get you down to them!"

Even Scallion was spellbound by now. "The swab's do-lally!" he cried. "He's made a deal with the Devil!"

"Balderdash!" crowed the Lord Admiral. "He's a Gilligan! He's my great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson, and as true as the blood that was bred on McGilligan's Strand!" He broke off the hilt-lock with Scallion, laughing. "And damn me for a Dutchman if he ain't rescued his damsel without my lifting a finger – and found the bit of the curse you kindly failed to tell me!"

"What d'ye mean?"

"You never were a man of much substance, Scallion. But now you've nearly none at all!"

The pirate looked down at his spectral body and cursed. He was beginning to fade into mist, as though not of his own volition.

"When the lad threw your cutlass in the sea, you knew your ship was scuttled! The old savage said we'd be earthbound until some living soul found our effects – but if he tossed them into the sea, we'd go to our final reward – whatever that may be! Well, what do you say to that, Captain Tom Scallion?"

The pirate's teeth were clenched in fury. "I'll lay me own curse on ye, Lord Admiral! May your cursed breed rot on this rock forever! May he live to wish the beasts had eat his heart out! May he die an old man here, and alone!"

The Lord Admiral smiled. "An old man he may be, aye. But not alone. Smooth sailing, Captain. I daresay even the tropic isles will be cool compared to where you're going!"

Whatever Scallion wanted to say, he no longer had the voice to do it. With a soundless howl he whipped and vanished like the blown-out flame of a candle.

The Lord Admiral sighed deeply, sheathing his sword. He strode over towards the fallen canopy and peered about the grass until he spotted the wilted telescope. "And now for my own repose," he murmured.

Mary Ann pushed herself from the rock wall and stumbled forward. She dropped to her knees in the sand beside Gilligan, who was calmly watching the crocodiles propel themselves back into the breakers. Weak with relief, she sighed and leaned against his shoulder. For a few moments they sat in silence, until finally Gilligan spoke.

"Are you okay, Mary Ann?"

She looked up at him, her face filled with wonder. Her voice was a whisper. "Gilligan, how did you do that? That…that was a miracle!"

He turned and looked into her eyes. "Mary Ann, I told you I'd never let anything hurt you. Never."

For a moment Mary Ann didn't move. Then she began to lean towards him and--

"LITTLE BUDDY! MARY ANN! Thank goodness!"

The two jumped, but barely had time to register the Skipper's presence before they were both scooped up like a pair of rag dolls. Their four feet kicked at empty air as the Skipper hoisted them in his powerful arms. Then in his joy he began to dance around, whirling them like a merry-go-round. "Little buddy, you were wonderful! We saw it all!"

"Surely not all," quipped another voice, "or you'd have let them alone for a moment more! You great mooncalf!"

From where he was spinning in mid-air, Gilligan glimpsed the luminous form of the Lord Admiral, shaking a fist in frustration. "Blast it! Has no one on this isle any sense of occasion?" But the phantom couldn't stay angry in the face of such joy. He rested his hand on his sword hilt, ghostly eyes twinkling. "Ah, well, never fear," he called. "You and the little milkmaid have all the time in the world. But your shipmate's right on one account. You were wonderful. Well done, my boy. Bloody well done!"

"Thanks Lor—I mean Skipper!" Gilligan laughed, trying to draw breath. "Skipper, we're really glad to see you too, but could you please put us down? I don't know if Mary Ann's getting dizzy, but I sure am!"

The Skipper was actually holding Mary Ann as gently as if she were made of fine china, but he set them both down at once. "Oh! Sorry, Mary Ann. Are you all right?"

She laughed, pushing her hair back from her eyes. "I'm fine, Skipper. We're both fine!"

"Oh, that's wonderful! And you, Gilligan—" he took Gilligan by the shoulders and nearly shook him, "don't you ever scare me like that again! You took about twenty years off of me!"

"And about two hundred from me," added the Lord Admiral, wiping his ghostly brow.

"He saved my life again, Skipper! Did you ever see anything like it? He wasn't even afraid of them!"

"That's not true, Mary Ann. I was pretty scared for awhile there." Gilligan shrugged, smiling. "But what's that old saying? There's nothing to fear but fear itself?"

"Ep – " The Skipper decided to risk it. "And—what about your pirate ghost, little buddy?"

Gilligan stole a quick glance at the Lord Admiral, who shook his head. "Gone, lad. Gone for good."

He turned back to the Skipper. "He's gone for good, Skipper. But I couldn't have done it alone."

The Skipper's grin lit up the twilight like a harvest moon. "You're never alone, little buddy. Come on, you two, I've got a rope over there. Let's get you two back up to the others and back to camp."

The Lord Admiral nodded at Gilligan. "Go on, lad. You take the high road – I'll take the low. I'll meet you topside."