The Island of the Blue Dolphins (Summary)

Chapter 8

- Karana and Ramo return to find their village a ghost town; the pack of wild dogs has eaten all of the stored food already. That night, the dogs' howls fill the air.
- The next day, Ramo and Karana gather food. Karana finds some seagull eggs and seeds. Ramo is proud when he spears a string of fish. They hunt abalone on the rocks.
- Ramo wonders if the ship will return soon and says that he likes it better in the village with only Karana. It's more fun that way.
- Ramo says he'll return to Coral Cove tomorrow for one of the canoes so they can fish in it. Karana says the canoe is too heavy, but Ramo puffs out his chest. He's wearing a huge necklace of sea-elephant teeth. He reminds his sister he is the son of Chief Chowig.
- Ramo announces that he is the new chief of the island. Karana reminds him that he must go through the ceremony to become an adult man (whipping with nettles and being tied to an ant hill – yikes!). Ramo turns pale.
- Ramo decides on a new name for himself: Chief Tanyositlopai.
- The next morning, there's no sign of Ramo in the village. Karana gets worried pretty quickly. She starts to go after him, but knows that someone has to watch for the ship. Instead, she goes to Coral Cove to wait for him in the canoe.
 Karana collects mussels at the cove, but there's still no sign of Ramo. Back at the village, the hut is empty too. Karana buries her shellfish to protect them from the dogs and takes the trail to the south end of the island.
- Karana finds Ramo on the ground with a circle of dogs around him. He has a big gash in his throat – and he's dead. She carries his body back to the village, followed by the pack of dogs, and puts Ramo in the hut.
- Karana follows the dogs as they retreat back up a hill to their cave. She thinks of starting a fire to burn them all up, but can't find enough dried plants to make a fire.
- All night, she sits with the body of her brother. She promises that some day she'll return and kill the dogs.