The Island of Dr. Moreau Chapter 6 Summary

The Evil-Looking Boatmen

  • Prendick drifts alone. Better late than never, Montgomery and his crew take pity on him. Montgomery brings the launch around and connects the two boats by a rope.
  • The launch hauls the dinghy toward the shore, and Prendick has to bail out the water to keep afloat. He checks out the launch's workers. Other than Montgomery and the white-haired man, the workers are wrapped in strange, dirty, white cloth from head to toe and have abnormally long bodies and twisted features. The look of them gives Prendick "a spasm of disgust" (6.5).
  • The workers all turn away from Prendick when they notice his staring. He assumes his stares are annoying them. In their defense, a complete stranger staring at you in disgust can be annoying at times.
  • Once docked, the workers start unloading the launch. Prendick notices they walk with "curious movements" due to their distorted legs (6.7). They also talk in "odd guttural tones" that sound like a foreign language to Prendick (6.7).
  • The white-haired man welcomes Prendick to the island and is intrigued to learn his new guest has a bit of training in biology. Turns out he is a biologist as well and works on the island. Hmm, scientist? Solitary island? Experiments? Yeah, this'll turn out well.
  • Montgomery joins his friend, and Prendick thanks him for saving his life yet again. Montgomery starts to warn him about something, but then changes his mind. Then the two release rabbits into the island's forest instead.
  • The white-haired man returns with biscuits and brandy for Prendick. Prendick enjoys the biscuits but abstains from the alcohol, explaining he's a teetotaler.