The redhead draped long white arms over his shoulders, her hands behind his neck.  The dancing candle flame and her firey hair reflecting on the sequins in her gown made a shimmering red moon in the center of each silver circle.  His hands traced the swell of her hips as she cooed softly but his eyes were steely determination.

"I've been trying Gil, I swear", she said.  "He never goes anywhere without his wife and sometimes I don't think he even notices that I am flirting with him.  It's enough to really destroy a girl's ego. I don't understand it, I never had any trouble getting a man's attention before".

"Maybe you're being too subtle, Ginger".  His hands pried hers apart and he brought her arms down to her side.  She pouted at his sudden move to separate them and tried to re-establish her position.  He pushed her away from him, holding her at arm's length to survey the bait he had brought to hook his chosen fish.  She looked as if she had been poured into the iridescent evening gown she wore.  The plunging neckline automatically drew eyes down its V and into the imagining of what those narrow straps that were anchored at her neck held.  Here, in this sweltering tropical heat she wore full makeup, her eyes rimmed with thick, black lashes and her lips full and red.  "No baby, I guess no one would ever accuse you of subtlety.  Go back to your hut, Ginger, the Skipper and I have some business to discuss".

Ginger started to protest being so coldy dismissed, but even she realized that in his present mood, her feminine wiles would have no effect.  A bit of self-preservation kept her from trying to persuade him but she couldn't resist a defiant toss of her red hair as she exited.

"She's gone away mad now Gil.  You hurt her feelings".

 The sympathetic voice for the rejected Ginger came from a large man in the corner of the hut. He was older than the first man, as pudgy and out of shape as Gil was thin and wiry.  They looked a bit like a Laurel and Hardy team.  The big man's face was softer, and he spoke without the embittered edge that was present in Gil's words.

 "You're lucky to have a girl like that, Gil.  She's beautiful and she loves you.  She'd do anything for you.  It's not her fault that Howell character isn't interested, must be something wrong with him. Who wouldn't be interested in a gorgeous girl like that?"

"Who wouldn't be interested?" Gil lifted his left eyebrow and pinned the fat man against the wall with one look. "Are you maybe a little interested, Skip?"

"No, Gil.  Uh uh, no way", Skip's voice revealed his panic at having angered Gil with his chivalrous defense of Ginger. " I didn't mean that.  I would never do that to you Gil, you know that."

"Don't look so scared, Skip.  She's nothing to me.  Besides, we got bigger problems than that right now.  That crazy professor has made another receiver, caught him trying to pick up ships' radio on it.  I had to play the bumbling sidekick again and pretend to stumble over it.  I think I disabled it for now but he'll probably have it fixed by tomorrow.  That's all we need right now.  If he manages to contact a ship, he'll tell everyone we're here.  Rescue is not on the schedule just yet, not until we have Howell's signature on that will."

"Will?" The Skipper looked nervous and surprised.  "I thought we were just going to pretend to take good care of him until we got "rescued" and get Ginger to convince him to give us a fat reward.  You never said anything about killing him, Gil. I didn't think we was gonna kill him."

"Who asked you to think, Skip?"  Gil's tone was sharp and condescending.  "I mean, that's not your strong point is it?  Who was it let those two tourists on board, little miss Girl Next Door and the Nutty Professor?"

"Hey Gil, that wasn't my fault.  I couldn't get rid of them without raising suspicion, I had to let them on board".

"Yeah?  Well, you were only supposed to pretend to be shipwrecked, not actually scuttle the ship!  Now we got no way out of here.  I can't even get rid of that pain in the ass professor because we may need one of those crazy coconut radio inventions of his to really get off this damn island.  So don't think anymore Skip, okay?"

Gil growled out his orders within inches of the Skipper's face, accentuating each word with a finger drilling the words into the Skipper's chest, his voice rising in anger.  "Do me a favor and don't.. think... anymore!"

"Okay Gil.  Whatever you say, it's your plan."  The Skipper backed his rotund frame out of the door of the hut, trying not to look as if he was in a hurry to get away.  "You know Gil, there's a good moon tonight.  I'm gonna go down to the lagoon and do a little work on the hull while everyone sleeps."

"Yeah, okay.  Just don't make it obvious.  We don't want anyone to notice if you do get that barnacle farm seaworthy.  We need it ready. Although, with the way this job is going we could end up on this god-forsaken island for the next ten years."

The big man pulled on his cap and smiled reassuringly. "Oh no, Gil. You're too smart for that.  Don't worry, that ain't never gonna happen."

*For anyone who didn't grow up in the United States or who may have lived under a rock since 1964, we offer this link by way of explanation.