Willmar tribune., 1909-12-08
A CASE OF
PREMON|T|ON
By GEORGE V. WILLIAMS,


inston talking about life on what in
the sixties were called "the plains"
when the natural state was struggling
against civilization. when the savage
was not yet extinct there and when
the buffalo was bucking against the
locomotive. There was Tom Sherikle.
Dave BogGs. Tom Durham and my
self. We had all lived beyond the
Missouri river in those halcyon days.
Some of us had been worse than we
should have been. but we made fair
! average sample "f the population. One
of our number had reached the United
States senate. another was Il repre-
sentative. While a third was big
land dealer in the region Of which we
| We're speaking. The fourth, Tom Dur
ham, was a prominent clergyman.
''Do any of you remember Phoebe
Rusk?" asked SheriEIe who kept
boarding house first at .Julesburg. then
| at Laramie, following the Union Pa
| cific as it made new termina!s?''
All owned to Il remembrance of her
| except the Rev. Mr.. Durham. who
maintained silence
''The biggest piece of blind luck l
ever heard Of Sherkle continued.
''she furnished. You know how she
used to play poker with the boys?
She made money regularly ut tavern
keeping. but she made more by poker.
She was jolly, good natured, good
hearted woman whom everybody
liked and was considered perfectly
straight in every respect. She could
spot a regular gambler and would nev-
er play with any of them.
We'll. this is the story l heard about
| her great stroke Of luck. and got it
| from one Of he men 1T the table. who
| had no interest in lying about it. \
number Of her boarderS sat down to
play one night in her par|or and asked
her to Join them. She said she'd rath-
er not. She didn't want to win their
money and somehow she felt that
she'd be awfulIy lucky. She could al
ways tell. she said, when she was go
ing to win big. But the boys persuad-
ed her. ana she took hand
"Talk as YOU please. there's a lot in
these feelings that some people have
about something that's gcinS to hap
pen. I've been there myself. When
was developing my claim at Deadwood
knew the day before struck the
vein that made me rich that was in
for strike There was no indication
of it any more than there had been
when l began to work with my pick.
Nevertheless l knew it. | mention
this 10 show ycu just how Phoebe
Rusk felt.
There were half q dozen Of them in
the party. A youngster of eighteen,
a tenderfoot from The east, wanted to
take a hand, but Phoebe wouldn't so
in unless he stayed out. SO the banker
wouldn't give him any chips. The
cards had been dealt five or six times
when the game was opened with
Jackpot. 1t happened to be one of
those occasions when everybody had
good hand. The pile on the table
| kept growing till at last Phoebe called
halt She said she didn't want her
house to get the reputation of running
such big game One man drew two
cards. and the rest, all except Phoebe.
stood pat. Phoebe said:
eff don't draw the card to fill my
hand is worth nothing. If I do I'll
win the pot It's nothing more or less
than showdown, so don't mind let
ting you see my hand
"She laid her cards face up o. the ta-
BILE. There were the eight. nine, ten
and jack of spades and the king Of
diamonds. Throwing out the king. she
said to the dealer: Give me either
the seven or queen of spades, which.
ever you like. I'm dead sure you'll
give me one or the other
'The dealer dealt her the top card
on the pack. She turned it over and
it was the seven of spades. She had
a straight flush and won the pot.
| ''That broke up the game None Of
them would play longer against wo
man who knew she would win and
did win."
|
quite sure that there are people so
delicately organized in certain respects
that they can feel such presentiments
as the one given. The Rev. Mr.. Dur
ham alone made no comment.
|:What do you think, parson?" asked
Sherikle. "Do you believe in such
foresight?'
"Not in that case"
"Why not:"
The clergyman hesitated and at last
said:
eve are all old plainsmen. and l
know no one Of us would do anything
to injure the other. so I don't mind
giving you my confidence. Besides,
make no secret that l was an un-
righteous man before my conversion.
though don't like. after thirty years
in the ministry. to refer to special in
stances in that life have since held
in horror was. as you know. at
that time professional gambler and
was member Of the poker party at
Phoebe Rusk's. though l wasn't known
there as a gambler. Phoebe also was
crooked on cards. and her boarding
house was really 4 gambling house
She and l stood in together. When
! she called for one Of the cards she
wanted she was quite sure she would
get it. for I had dealt her the cards
she had, knowing what they were,
and had the seven of spades ready to
| complete her hand.''