Their drive led them along the broad avenues of Batavia, and close to the banks of one of the canals where a number of boys were enjoying an afternoon bath. Then they passed through a part of the Chinese quarter where Frank and Fred were greatly amused at the operation of shoeing a horse. The unhappy beast was tied between a couple of upright posts, and partially suspended from a horizontal beam, so that he had very little chance to kick or struggle. Evidently he had given up all idea of resistance, as he stood with his eyes half closed, and presented a general appearance of resignation. Our friends returned to the hotel in good season for dinner, which contained the inevitable curry to which the boys had become accustomed during their sojourn in the tropics. Frank asked if they would bid good-bye to curry in leaving Java; he was assured that the article was destined to figure on their bill of fare for an indefinite period, as the countries they were to visit were inhabited by eaters of curry no less than were Siam and Java. They went early to bed, and by daylight on the following morning were up and ready for departure. [Illustration: OUTWARD BOUND.] They rode in a carriage to the "boom," or pier, where a small boat was waiting to take them to the steamer. They went out by the same canal that they entered on their arrival, and by seven o'clock they were on board the _Osprey_, that was to be their home for several days. The captain was there ahead of them, and before eight o'clock they were outward bound, and leaving behind them the Island of Java, with its dense population and its wealth of natural products. They watched the receding coast as long as it was in sight. Gradually it faded to a mere line on the horizon, and then disappeared altogether; but hardly had it vanished before they were in sight of Sumatra. All day they were within a few miles of its shores, and the boys longed greatly to make an exploration of this little-known region. They were obliged to be content with what they had learned of Sumatra on their journey to the southward, and recalled with pleasure the stories told them by their fellow-passenger on the steamer between Singapore and Batavia. The adventures of our young friends, Frank Bassett and Fred Bronson, up to the time of their departure from Java, have been told in previous volumes.[1] [1] "The Boy Travellers in the Far East.--Parts I. and II. Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey to Japan, China, Siam, and Java, with Descriptions of Cochin-China, Cambodia, Sumatra, and the Malay Archipelago. By Thomas W. Knox. Published by Harper & Brothers, New York, 1880-'81."