The Press., 1893-12-07
w. c. T. U. DEPARTMENT.
Two Boys, and the Boat Drifting Toward
 the Sea.
BY REV. EDWARD A. RAND.

"Yah!'
 Splendid boys, Nat and Ben, warm- hearted and true. They had warm a big one, and will make any one very selfish in the end. '.. He loved dark green bottle that had a mouth, but seemed to have no bottom !; for, continually filled, it was continually empty. And this dark green bottle was Uncle Jobs companion when he went "a- fishin'." Uncle Job was not married. His sister, Aunt Cilly, a widow, kept kept house for Uncle Job and these two boys, Nat and Ben, children of dead brother. She was grand kind of woman. She wore big red and yellow turban, and it looked as if she were carrying around all the time sunset-cloud. She could talk Hike minister" people said. She had plainly told her brother Job of his danger because he would keep the company of that bottle with a mouth, but without a bottom.
 Didn't she talk "like minister" to him the day he was going "a-fishing?" How big she looked!
 Rolling round her eyes, and then seem- ing to throw them at him, as if she would penetrate to his sleepy conscience and wake that up, she began in a stately sono- rous tone:
 "Job, you see dat ribber? It will drif' boat clar out to de sea, out on de rocks an de big wabes, an who'll help poor Brudder Job den? You'll drif'. like baby in at-dat-boat-ef yer don stop yer drinkin', chile an oh, Suthin' Drefful you'll wake up to see! Oh-h-h!" Here Aunt Cilly rose up to her greatest possible height, and her eyes rolled round dramatically. It seemed as if she must have made Uncle Job also see 'Suthn' | Drefful," for he winced, and then gave a sudden start. He tried to laugh, then whistled, and walked off carelessly to his boat, folding his hands closely over the breast pocket carrying the stout bottle.
 'I warn vel You'll git driffin' an go to sea, an oh, Suthin' Drefful will come l! Jine de pledge, I tell vel" solemnly warned Aunt Cilly. | Then Uncle Job made this reply:
 "When ye see me a-foatin' down de ribber like baby, I'll jine de pledge."
 He went to his boat, launched it, push ed off, rowed up the stream, and quickly disappeared behind a neighboring green point that stretched into the blue river hurrying down to the sea.
 His two nephews, Nat and Ben, sat by the river-bank, and gravely discussed Un- cle Jobs situation.
 Aunt Cilly jes' right, Ben. Elf ye drink, eff ye git a-goin, you'll jes' drif' down de ribber," warned Nat, that steadfast tenn perance champion. Like baby in 8 boat, yah, you will Nat," solemnly declared Ben.
 "A baby dat dunno nothin', Ben.'' "You better not tech it," Nat" ''I'se gwine to jine de pledge, Ben." "An' me too, Nat"
 "lse gwine to tell Aun' Cilly"
 "An' me too, Nat"
 Four nimble feet went pattering over the green green to find Aunt Cilly. They told her their purpose, and with delight she pulled out an old pledge.
 Nat printed his name in big letters NAT" Then came positive, decided good-sized BEN"
 Dat will keep ye from driffiin' dowr de ribber, boys," said Aunt Cilly with de light.
 When the boys went back to the rivel bank, what did they soon see }? A drifting boat?
 Yes; and it was Uncle Jobs. They could tell that by its color. He was very patriotic. He called his boat "The Lit tie Red, White and Blue," and had striped it accordingly.
 But where was the man that painted it
 "I see his headl" cried Nat.
 Ben, too, could see it, just protecting above the stern of the boat. The rest O Uncle Job was stretched out in the boa somewhere.
 "Fas' asleep!" shouted Ben.
 "An' a-driffin' down the ribber!" cried Nat.
 Yes, the uncle had been too intimate with that bottle, had dropped asleep, ano now his boat was drifting, drifting, drift ing steadily toward the wide, open sea toward the night, toward death Does no the slave of drink always drift that way
 But what could two boys do? The, wanted to do something. They knew hoy to row a boat, but, alas! no boat wa near, save the unlucky one drifting toward death. There was raft, though, tied t, a stake in the bank. Somebody had sen a load of wood on the raft down to Aun Cilly's house.
 "Let's push off in dat raf," suggested Nat.
 "Come on," replied Ben.
 Both of the boys were reputed to be "heap strong in de arms" They sool poled out to the boat, climbed into it, ant hitching the raft to the stern, began t. pull their prize ashore. All the whil Uncle Job was sleeping, but not yer peacefully, for now and then he groaned Did he hear Aunt Cilly talking to him Did he tremble before her rebukes? The boys pulled stoutly on their oars Only boys, but you put any two boys to gether in any good cause, and they vii bring out lot of electric power.
 Suddenly, though, what came round tn point near by?
 Dat tug!' said Nat in alarm. Yes, a tugboat pufing, panting, blow ing, splashing, making as much noise a any sea-dragon that was ever imagined