The conversation was here interrupted by meeting the pavava that had been sent for to bring home the game from the forest. Mr. Segovia gave some directions concerning the work in hand, and then the party rode rapidly to the boat that lay waiting for them. There was a light breeze blowing in the right direction, and so a quick passage was made back to Jala-jala. There was enough to talk about for the evening, and neither of the boys could keep his thoughts away from the fact that he had shot a deer and a boar on the same day, and assisted in the slaughter of a boa-constrictor. It was glory enough for twenty-four hours at least, Frank said, as he went to bed; Fred thought it could be spread over three or four days without becoming too thin, and even a month would not be too much. "A deer, a hog, and a share in a snake," murmured Fred, as he settled his head on his pillow. "A wild hog, a deer, and a share in a snake-fight," whispered Frank to himself, as he dropped off to sleep. "Wonder what Miss Effie and Mary will say to that? I declare I haven't written home since we left Java; but then there hasn't been time, and besides we've had no chance to send letters. I must ask the Doctor in the morning when there is a mail for America, and how it goes." A moment later he was in the land of dreams. The question relative to the postal facilities of the Philippines was duly propounded in the morning, and received the following answer: "There is a steamer once a fortnight each way between Manilla and Hong-Kong; the distance is 650 miles, and the voyage usually occupies about three days. It is nearly the same distance to Singapore; in the busy season there is a semi-monthly steamer to Singapore, but it is not generally maintained through the whole year. For letters to America the quickest route is _via_ Hong-Kong, whence there is a mail twice a month to Yokohama and San Francisco. The last mail for Hong-Kong left Manilla a day before your arrival, and so you have plenty of time to get your letters ready for the next. "At the time of year when the crops have been harvested, and the product is going forward to the European market, there are many irregular steamers from Manilla to Singapore, and also to Hong-Kong. There are also sailing-ships bound for European and American ports, though not as many as from one of the great ports of China or Japan. We shall have no difficulty in getting away from the islands, as we had no difficulty in getting here; though we may possibly be compelled to wait a few days after we are ready to start." At this moment a servant came to call our friends to breakfast, and the conversation came to an end. During breakfast it was announced that an excursion would be made on the lake that day, and would start in half an hour. [Illustration: FRANK'S PRIZE--A BUTTERFLY.]