Tala Neki made their way up the dark path, on their way to "Dern's Council." When they finally arrived, they saw Dale Jacobs off to the side sorting through a number of cards. "Oh, hello there!" He called out, and then stuff the cards into a small woven sack. "I was just finishing tallying the votes here and let me tell ya, it was extremely close."

He stood up and walked over to the castaways, who were now sitting down on tree stumps surrounding a large fire pit. "Before we continue, I have some more news about Dern. He is still in hospital, but we think he's going to come around pretty soon. No sign of the animal that did it, so keep your eyes open. Oh, and I've also been told that starting next week, 'Dern's Council' has been changed to 'Jacob's Ladder'. They think the title should reflect the host and since there is a whole bunch of other changes starting tomorrow, it was a nice fit."

"What kind of changes Dale?" Whit asked, voicing the same question the rest of the contestants had on their mind.

"Well Whit, I'm sure you're aware that tomorrow the two tribes will merge into one. The five members from Tala Neki will join up with the five members from Yumnuska to form a new tribe. The name and location of the tribe will be then decided by two representatives, one from each group. Because of this development, tribes no longer will be granted immunity. Instead, individual winners of the contestants are the ones who are immune from the vote, taking the competitions to the next level."

He looked down at his watch, and then continued. "I guess it's time I tell you all who's been voted off, and unlike Dern, I'm not going to enjoy this... Sorry Harlow, but the fans have spoken."

Harlow stood up, and turned to face the rest of the group. "Well friends, comrades, associates, fellow-castaways, chums, pals, etcetera, etcetera, it's apparent the fans need me back in Odyssey. OBVIOUSLY, there's a big case they need yours truly to solve and can't do a minute longer without me. Speaking of which, what's happened with my Daniel Boone fan club? Things could be falling apart! I should never have agreed to do this. I gotta get outta here, the sooner the better! Goodbye Dale, Whit, Tom, and the rest of you... I gotta get back to Odyssey!"

And with that, Harlow hurried out of the council, leaving only five Tala Neki members left. Tomorrow, be sure to find out more information about the tribal merger, and the reactions to Harlow's departure.


Harlow Doyle was the last castaway to be voted off before the two tribes would merge into one. Below are some of the remaining castaway's reactions:

"Well I reckon he's happy to be back in Odyssey. Afterall, he gets to sleep in a nice warm bed, have soothing hot baths and even get to eat regularly... Oh, it just breaks my heart when I think 'bout what I'm missin'!"
- Tom Riley, Tala Neki

"According to what Dale told us, Harlow seemed very eager to return home. I'm happy for him and I think he's more suited for Odyssey anyway. Day by day the people are beginning to be picked off, it's only a matter of time before my number's called."
- Connie Kendall, Yumnuska


Tala Neki and Yumnuska were faced with a decision; who would they send to represent their tribe? After a lot of thought and careful planning, they had made their decision. Whit was truly the best choice for Tala Neki, as his experience and kind nature would help him make the best possible choice in choosing a location to move to. Yumnuska, on the other hand, was still having difficulty choosing a suitable ambassador. Jack was certainly a good choice but his leg was still bothering him and he didn't want to walk all the way to the other side of the island. So the decision was made that Connie would head to Tala Neki to negotiate their future.

Whit was greeted with open arms as he reached "Camp Yumnuska". They had decided to throw a little celebration in honor of their guest and had decorated the trees with anything the could find, such as seaweed and clamshells. And best of all, they had already prepared a large serving of rice for their visitor. Eugene serenaded the group with tunes from his ukulele, and Bernard told stories he had learned throughout the years. Whit was getting a pretty good picture of what the group did on a typical day, and he was rather enjoying it.

When Connie reached the Tala Neki camp she was amazed at what she saw. It was much more organized then Yumnuska's camp; hammocks were attached to various trees, a round pit sat in the center that was obviously used for cooking dinner, torches were neatly sitting against a crate (that had been won in an earlier contest) and the members of the tribe were all relaxing near the ocean waters. She approached them and they got very excited at the site of her. They offered her some fruit they had won, and even gave her some fish. Connie couldn't believe how different the two tribes had been living, and she was liking the Tala Neki tribe very much.

A few hours later it was time to make some decisions. So that they would be allowed to do such in solitude, both Whit and Connie would travel by raft to a larger island just south of their own. There they would spend the night in a small, wooden cabin.

When they finally arrived, they were both greeted with a wonderful surprise. Sitting there in the sand was a small round table with a white table cloth draped over it. Bowls of fruit were sitting in the center. Dale Jacobs was standing nearby holding a large, roasted turkey. "Hey you two!" he said, with a big smile on his face, "Why don't you two have a seat and I'll get you guys ready for supper."

The two sat down and began to eat, it was the best dinner either of them had had since coming to the island, and they enjoyed every minute of it. Throughout the evening they discussed possible titles for the new tribe as well as which location they should move to. After a lot of discussion, the two decided to combine both of their tribe names, forming "Talnuska". It was also decided that since the Tala Neki's camp was so much more organized, the former Yumnuska members would be moving to that side of the island.

After dinner, the two continued talking for a while and reminisced about old times. Eventually, Dale returned and lead them through the dark forest to a cabin where they would spend the night.


The next morning, Whit and Connie left their cabin and began to gather up their things. They hauled their gear onto one of the rafts and began began paddling towards the Yumnuska camp. Soon they would be breaking the news to the Yumnuska tribe that would be moving to Tala Neki.

When they eventually arrived, Yumnuska was just finishing off their lunch. They offered Whit and Connie a portion of their meal, but they told them there wasn't much time. They would have only five minutes to get on the raft and leave their home. They could only take three things with them, not including their luxury items, and must leave everything else where it was. After a bit of quick thinking, they decided to grab their fishing pole, a large blanket and their own box of matches, which they had won in an earlier challenge.

Then, the five remaining members of the Yumnuska tribe reluctantly said their good-byes to not only their camp, but to some of their fondest memories as well. They had been living there for over a month now, and it was both scary and exciting to entertain the thought of moving in with the Tala Neki gang. They all hoped into the makeshift raft and began the long journey around the island, it would be a few hours before they finally reached Tala Neki.

Dale Jacobs had already informed Tala Neki that they would be having permanent guests, and they were doing their best to welcome them. Tom had caught a few fish the night before and Dr. Blackgaard was helping Joanne in preparing a meal. Jason was busy reorganizing the clearing where they slept. That night there would be five more bodies sleeping with them, and they need all the room they could get.

After what seemed like hours, and in fact it really was, the Yumnuska raft finally approached the Tala Neki beach. Both tribes excitedly ran to embrace each other, happy they would be spending the remaining days together. After a few minutes of celebrating, Tom took them all to a series of logs where they would be eating dinner. Joanne and Regis grabbed the fish filled coconuts and served them to the entire tribe. Yumnuska was still quite amazed at how nice things looked on this part off the island, not only Tala Neki's camp, but also how bright the colors seemed to be as the sun was beginning to set.

After the wonderful dinner, Dale Jacobs returned to the castaways to make sure everyone was settling in smoothly. Aside from several more hammocks, he also had a few crew members bring a large sack full of rice. If rationed correctly, the rice would last the next thirty-eight days on the island and everyone was intending to stay that long.

Another few hours later, the new Talnuska tribe sat under the stars and chatted. They shared with each other experiences they were having on the island. From what most of the castaways had said, it wasn't about the money. It was about learning more from the people they were with. From the many good things Regis Blackgaard was able to contribute to the group, and the occasional temper that Bernard seemed to keep tame most of the time. They were all learning things about one another, that they wouldn't forget.