THE RETURN OF WRONGWAY FELDMAN

He wasn't sure why, but he collected things he found. He had brought out his diary and written the first letter when he saw the bottle with the note bobbing in the water. He dove in and retrieved it. What it said brought tears to his bright baby blue eyes. "Skipper! Skipper!" was all he could shout as his legs carried him fast through the thick jungle of trees.

"What is it, Gilligan?" the Skipper asked, as the first mate nearly bowled him over as usual coming into the camp.

"Read this Skipper! They know, Skipper, they really know!" Gilligan said, waving the letter excitedly. It took the Skipper grabbing his shaking arm to free the small note.

Skipper quickly read it. "Well, what do you know? He doesn't bring help, but he does this?" Skipper asked.

"What's Gilligan found now?" Professor Roy Hinkley queried as he joined the two men. The Skipper just handed him the note, unable to believe what it said.

I dunno know if this will reach yous, but I just want to let you know, Gilligan, I told your family that you was alive. I'm sorry for not helping you all more, but to me the island was paradise! I don't knows why you and your pals wants to leave. Take care - hopes we meets again, dear boy!

Wrongway

"That's astonishing! Well, I'm happy for you, Gilligan. Hopefully he told all our families we are alive, even if it means we're still stuck here," the Professor said, handing the note back to the happy first mate.

"Yeah, he sure was a nice guy," Gilligan agreed.

"No he wasn't, Gilligan. Nice people help their friends when they need help, they don't just leave them stranded, and then return a month later, only to give them the bad news. He's a selfish, rotten person, I'll be glad if he never comes back," Skipper argued, and Gilligan's smile shrunk.

"But at least he told our families we're alive."

"Your family, Gilligan! Who even knows if that's true? Look at that Jackson Ferrell fellow – he said he was a doctor, and all he was, was a crummy thief," the Skipper said, but Gilligan refused to let his spirits fall.

"I believe him, Skipper."

"That's because you're gullible. Face it, Gilligan - we've been duped again. If we want to get off, we gotta do it ourselves, and I don't want to hear another word from you about Wrong-Way, in fact I don't want you to mention his name again, and that's an order," Skipper said, ending the conversation.

Gilligan tightened his fingers around the note and stormed off angrily.

The Professor sighed and gave the Skipper a disapproving look. "Must you destroy his hopes, Skipper?" he asked, and the Skipper looked away.

"Professor, I refuse to baby him, he has to grow up and face the world as it is. You seen the people we encountered so far – except for that jungle boy, they all deceived us, and I don't think Wrong-Way should provide false hope," Skipper defended himself.

"How do you know it's false? I think he would do something like this. He probably thought by not rescuing us he was doing us a big favor."

"Some favor! I'm sick of the same boring fish and fruit! I want a steak, Professor, a nice, thick, juicy one," the Skipper said, changing the subject, and the Professor sighed.

XXX

Gilligan was now plopped back on the beach, skipping stones.

"Hey, Gilligan, what's wrong? Did the Skipper yell at you again?" Mary Ann asked, walking up to him.

"Wrong-Way sent me a note. He said he told my parents I'm alive, but the Skipper doesn't think it's true. I think he was a real nice guy. He tried to teach me to fly," Gilligan answered her.

Not wanting to upset him further, she only nodded. "Yeah... He was a... charmer all right," she said, trying her best not to lie too badly. Gilligan just smiled at her, unable to see the fib.

"Thanks Mary Ann. You're a good friend, just like Wrong-Way," he told her, his mood now back to normal. Mary Ann smiled and hurried off to make dinner.

Gilligan sat to write:

Dear Diary,

wrong way reterned. nots to rescu us tho. he was tyred of the outsid werld so we dicidid to bring it to iland. It didnt work tho. Wrong-way landid on anuther iland and I dunnon think hes cumin bak. I knows he told mom im alives tho. he was a gud guy no mater what skipper says.

Gilligan