They ate a meal of fresh fruits, and Tommy told Dr. Dolittle about the dolphins.
"How exciting!" the doctor exclaimed.
"I knew you could do it!"
"I still have so much to learn," Tommy said humbly.
The island was large with high, rocky mountains in the middle.
No one knew where they were.
"All our maps were swept away in that storm," said the doctor.
"But at least I saved this,"
he said as he held up his black medicine bag.
"And these." From inside the bag he pulled out his notebooks.
Tommy suddenly felt sad that he didn't have any of his things.
Then the doctor surprised him.
"These are yours, I think."
The doctor held up the shoes Tommy's father had given him.
"Oh, thank you, Dr. Dolittle!" Tommy cried.
"And this is yours, I believe."
The doctor gave Charles a thick book.
"How wonderful you are," Charles exclaimed, hugging him.
Tommy got up to get another piece of fruit.
He suddenly got the feeling that he was being watched.
Sounds came from the trees.
"Uh, Doctor?" he called out softly.
Just then, an entire tribe of island men came out of the trees.
Tommy ran to Dr. Dolittle and Charles.
Dr. Dolittle jumped up in delight.
"So there are people living here!
How wonderful!" he cried out.
He walked toward the natives, his arms spread wide and a big smile on his face.
But the men did not smile back.
They raised their swords in the air.
Hiding behind Charles, Tommy observed the island natives.
All of them wore animal skins.
Most of them were tall and had a white mark on their forehead.
The man in the middle, however, was short and looked scary.
He had a red mark on each cheek.
Tommy guessed that he was their chief.
Dr. Dolittle tried to communicate with them.
"We are friends," he said slowly.
The natives did not show any response.
Instead, they took a step forward and pointed their swords at the doctor.
"I don't think they understand," Charles said.
Suddenly, from behind came a loud shout.
A young boy around Tommy's age ran out and said something to the short man.
Then he spoke a few words to his men.
After giving the doctor a long stare, they quietly went back into the trees.
"That's not a very warm welcome, is it?" remarked Charles.
"They don't understand why we are here," the doctor said.
"Why did they leave like that?" wondered Tommy.
"Well," said Polynesia, "I think we should find a way off this island."
As everyone thought about Polynesia's words, they heard a loud buzzing sound.
It wasn't a bee, because they couldn't see anything flying around.
"Look! Over there!"
Tommy pointed to a branch of a tree.
Crawling along it was a large insect.
Dr. Dolittle went to examine it.
"I can't believe it!" he said.
"It's a jabizri!"
"A what?" asked Charles as he stepped back.
The jabizri was pale blue on the underside but black with large red spots on its back.
It was a beautiful insect.
"Well, that's interesting," the doctor said.
"There is something tied to it."
A thin leaf was wrapped around its leg.
It was tied tightly with spider web.
Dr. Dolittle carefully held the insect and untangled the web.
After giving the jabizri to Tommy, the doctor spread the leaf out on his hand.
The leaf was covered in drawings, signs, and symbols.
One of them showed three men inside a mountain.
A large rock covered the entrance.
"This is a message for help," the doctor said.
Then he let out a gasp.
"Look, Tommy!" he pointed.
At the bottom was a drawing of a spider crawling across a monkey's head.
"Spider Monkey Island!"
Tommy and the doctor shouted at the same time.
"We're on Spider Monkey Island!"