To
Colin
and
Elizabeth

CONTENTS

PART ONE
CHAPTERPAGE
Prologue[1]
I The Cobbler’s Son[3]
II I Hear of the Great Naturalist[8]
III The Doctor’s Home[15]
IV The Wiff-Waff[24]
V Polynesia[32]
VI The Wounded Squirrel[41]
VII Shellfish Talk[45]
VIII Are You a Good Noticer?[50]
IX The Garden of Dreams[55]
X The Private Zoo[60]
XI My Schoolmaster, Polynesia[65]
XII My Great Idea[70]
XIII A Traveler Arrives[75]
XIV Chee-Chee’s Voyage[80]
XV I Become a Doctor’s Assistant[84]
PART TWO
I The Crew of “The Curlew”[88]
II Luke the Hermit[91]
III Jip and the Secret[95]
IV Bob[99]
V Mendoza[105]
VI The Judge’s Dog[111]
VII The End of the Mystery[116]
VIII Three Cheers[121]
IX The Purple Bird-of-Paradise[126]
X Long Arrow, the Son of Golden Arrow[129]
XI Blind Travel[135]
XII Destiny and Destination[140]
PART THREE
I The Third Man[144]
II Good-Bye![151]
III Our Troubles Begin[155]
IV Our Troubles Continue[160]
V Polynesia Has a Plan[167]
VI The Bed-Maker of Monteverde[172]
VII The Doctor’s Wager[177]
VIII The Great Bullfight[184]
IX We Depart in a Hurry[193]
PART FOUR
I Shellfish Languages Again[198]
II The Fidgit’s Story[205]
III Bad Weather[221]
IV Wrecked![225]
V Land![233]
VI The Jabizri[239]
VII Hawk’s-Head Mountain[245]
PART FIVE
I A Great Moment[253]
II “The Men of the Moving Land”[262]
III Fire[266]
IV What Makes an Island Float[271]
V War![275]
VI General Polynesia[282]
VII The Peace of the Parrots[287]
VIII The Hanging Stone[291]
IX The Election[300]
X The Coronation of King Jong[308]
PART SIX
I New Popsipetel[314]
II Thoughts of Home[322]
III The Red Man’s Science[328]
IV The Sea-Serpent[332]
V The Shellfish Riddle Solved at Last[340]
VI The Last Cabinet Meeting[346]
VII The Doctor’s Decision[350]

ILLUSTRATIONS

The Popsipetel Picture-History of King Jong Thinkalot (in colors)[Frontispiece]
PAGE
“I would sit on the river-wall with my feet dangling over the water”[5]
“And in her right foot she carried a lighted candle!”[22]
“‘Being a good noticer is terribly important’”[53]
A traveler arrives[77]
“On the bed sat the Hermit”[101]
“Sat scowling down upon the amazed and gaping jury”[115]
“‘What else can I think?’”[133]
“‘Boy, where’s the skipper?’”[147]
“In these lower levels we came upon the shadowy shapes of dead ships” (in colors)[162]
“The Doctor started chatting in Spanish to the bed-maker”[175]
“Did acrobatics on the beast’s horns”[189]
“‘He talks English!’”[201]
“I was alone in the ocean!”[226]
“It was a great moment”[257]
The Terrible Three[279]
“Working away with their noses against the end of the island”[293]
“The Whispering Rocks”[295]
“Had to chase his butterflies with a crown upon his head”[317]
“‘Tiptoe incognito,’ whispered Bumpo”[353]