he boat was
mended, the boys all sat around the fire to dry themselves, and made a
supper of crackers. What with the heat and the wind, it was not very
long before their clothes and blankets were thoroughly dried, and they
could look forward to a comfortable night. The tent was pitched where no
steamboat swell could possibly touch it, and the boat was apparently out
of reach of the tide. It was very early when the boys "turned in," and
for the first time in the cruise they slept peacefully all night.

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

THE MANGOSTEEN.

FROM ADVANCE SHEETS OF "THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST." PART
SECOND. BY THOMAS W. KNOX.

During their stay upon the island of Java, Dr. Bronson and his young
travelling companions took a trip on a railway from Batavia to
Buitenzorg, in order that they might learn something of the interior of
the island. While on this trip the boys observed, among other things,
that the trees in some instances grew quite close to the track. Doctor
Bronson explained to them that in the tropics it was no small matter to
keep a railway line clear of trees and vines, and sometimes the vines
would grow over the track in a single night. It was necessary to keep
men at work along the track to cut away the vegetation where it
threatened to interfere with the trains, and in the rainy season the
force of men was sometimes doubled. "There is one good effect," said he,
"of this luxuriant growth. The roots of the vines and trees become
interlaced in the embankment on which the road is built, and prevent its
being washed away by heavy rains. So you see there is, after all, a
saving in keeping the railway in repair."

At several of the stations the natives offered fruit of different kinds,
and nearly all new to our young friends. They had been told that they
would probably find the mangosteen for sale along the road; they had
inquired for it in Singapore, but it was not in season there, and now
their thoughts were bent upon discovering it between Batavia and
Buitenzorg. Two or three times they were disappointed when they asked
for it; but finally, at one of the stations, when Fred pronounced the
word "mangosteen," a native held up a bunch of fruit, and nodded. The
Doctor looked at the bunch, and nodded likewise, and Fred speedily paid
for the prize.

Perhaps we had best let Fred tell the story of the mangosteen, which he
did in his first letter from Buitenzorg:

"We have found the prince of fruits