In Chapter 4, the family have just landed safely on the beach after paddling in their makeshift boat from where the wreck of the ship is still wedged on the reef. They set up a tent, unload the supplies they have brought from the ship, and seek to make a meal. Ten-year-old Jack is attacked by a lobster in a tide pool, but kills it with the help of his father. Fifteen-year-old Fritz goes on a short expedition with a gun. He shoots an agouti, which is then devoured by the dogs, Turk and Flora. Fritz loses his temper and beats the dogs severely with his gun. His father reproves him. The family take their supper of ship's biscuit and soup made from bouillon. At first they do not know how they are going to eat the soup, but then they realize they can cook oysters, pry them open, and use the shells to scoop up the soup. The family beds down in the tent they have set up, for their first night on the island.
Chapter 5 opens the next day. The parents agree that their first task of the day must be to look for any of the ship's crew who might have washed ashore. Fritz and his father are to go on this expedition, leaving the mother and the younger boys behind. The family breakfast on the lobster and some more biscuits, the father leads his family in a prayer, and then he and Fritz set off, bringing guns with them. They cross the river and enter some tall grass. At first, they think they are being pursued through the grass by a wild animal, but the animal turns out to be their dog Turk, whom they had planned to bring and then left behind. They proceed along the coast of the island. Fritz wonders why they should bother to look for the crew, who did not bother to save them, but his father encourages him not to return evil for evil. They find some coconuts, first a decayed one, and then one that is a little "rancid," which they nonetheless eat.
In Chapter 6, we continue to follow Fritz and his father on their journey of exploration. They hack their way through the jungle, and coming out on the other side they find a gourd tree. The father shows Fritz how they can make plates, bowls, and silverware with the gourds that grow on the trunk of this tree. They fill their creations with sand and leave them to dry in the sun; then they move on. They find a little peninsula with a hill on it. They climb the hill and are able to see the whole bay and large parts of the island, but even with their telescope they cannot see any signs of people. They descend the hill and pass through "reeds," which turn out to be sugarcane. They then enter a palm grove, where they obtain coconuts by provoking monkeys to throw them at them. They drink the coconut milk and eat the coconut meat, bring the coconuts and the sugarcane with them, and turn back toward home.
Chapter 7 finds Fritz and his father still on their journey homeward. Fritz had filled his drinking flask with coconut milk, intending it for his mother and brothers, but when he tries it, he finds that it has fermented and become "new, sweet, sparkling wine." His father describes the stages of fermentation to him and warns that by the time they get the juice home, it will probably be vinegar or even further gone. They drink some of the "wine," being careful not to get drunk. They return to their gourd utensils and find that they have dried out well, so they bring them along. Then passing into the jungle that they first came through, they find a troop of monkeys. Their dog Turk immediately kills a mother monkey and starts to devour it. The baby monkey adopts Fritz as its new caretaker, "fastening its paws in his curls." Fritz gets his father's permission to keep the monkey as a pet. The two return to the river, where they are met by the rest of their family. The other boys are delighted to see the monkey and the sugarcane.
Chapter 8 is a short one. The family return to their camp to eat supper. Mrs. Robinson has prepared roasted fish, soup, and a "goose" (actually a booby), which was killed by thirteen-year-old Ernest during the day. They have also opened one of the barrels ("hogsheads") from the ship, which turns out to contain "one of the finest Dutch cheeses." The family eat all this food using the gourd plates and bowls. They cut up the coconuts for dessert. Fritz is excited to show off his coconut wine. As predicted, it turns out to be vinegar, which they use as a condiment for the goose and fish. The family say their prayers and go to bed (the monkey bedding down with them). They are wakened not long after by the sound of their dogs being attacked by a dozen jackals. Fritz and the father fire on the jackals, killing two of them and driving the rest off. Fritz saves the jackal he has killed so that he can show it to his brothers the next morning. They go back to sleep again.
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