The daily Alaskan., 1910-01-06
4 CASE IF
 PREM0MITION
a. aEoRaE V. MILLIAMs.

tue SAAlleS MtAN Nt'iANN NeAN t''f-N' 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 Sherlkle, Dave Boggs. Tcm Durham and my self. We had all lived beyond the Missouri river fn those halcyou days, Some of US had been worse than we should have been but we made a fair average sample of the population. One of our number had reached the United States senate. another was a repre- sentative. whlIe third was big land dealer in Che region of which we were speaking. The fourth. Tom Dur ham. was a prominent clergyman.
 "Do any of you remember Phoebe Rusk?" asked SherlI,le, 'who kept a boarding house first at Julesburg, then at Laramie, following the Onion Pa ci6c as It made new terminals|
 All owned to a remembrance of'her except the Rev. Mir. Durham, who maintained silence.
 'The biggest piece of blind luck l ever heard of" Sherikle continued "she furnished. You know how she used to play poker with the boys? She made money regularly at tavern keeping. but she made more by poker She was a 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 ney- CT play with any of them
 "Wen, this is the story heard about her great stroke of luck, and 1 got 1t from one of the men at the table, who had no interest in lying about it A number of her boarders sat down to play one night in her parlor and asked her to join them. She said she'd rath- CT not. She didn't want to win their money and somehow she felt that she'd be awfully lucky. She could al- ways tell. she said when she was go- Ing to win big. But the boys Dersuad- ed her. and she took hand.
 "Talk as you please, there's lot in these feelings that some people have about something that's going to hap pen. I've been there myself, When 1 was developing my claim at Deadwood I knew the day before l struck the vein that made me rich that was in for a strike. There was no indication of 1t any more than there had been when began to work with my pick. Nevertheless l knew it. l mention this to show you just how Phoebe Rusk felt.
 'There were half GOzen of them in the party. A youngster of eighteen, a tenderfoot from the east, wanted to take a hand, but Phoebe wouldn't go in unless he stayed out So the banker wouldn't give him any chips. The cards had been dealt 6ve or six times when the game was opened with a jackpot. It happened to be one of those occasions when everybody had a good hand. The pile on the table kept growing tin at last Phoebe called a halt. She said she didn't want her house to get the reputation of running such a big game. One man drew two cards. and the rest, all except Phoebe, stood pat. Phoebe said:
 "Tf Idon't draw the card to fl my hand is worth nothing If I do I'll win the pot. It's nothing more or less than a showdown, SO l don't mind let ting you see my hand
 "She laid her cards face up O. the ta- ble. 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 1t over, and 1t 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 wiz"
 Those who heard the story were quite sure that there are people so dellcately organized in certain respects that they can feel such presentments as the one given. The Rev. MT. Dur ham alone made no comment.
 What do you think, parsonT asked sherlkle. DO you believe in such foresight?"
 'TIot in that case"
 ''Wby not?"
 The clergyman hesitated and' at last said:
 'We are all old plainsmen, Gad know no one of us would do anything to injure the other. go don't mind giving you my confidence. Besides, make no secret that l was an un- righteous man before my conversion, though I don't like. after thirty years in the ministry. to refer to special in- stances in that life 1 have since he'd in horror. was. as you know. at that time a professional gambler and was member of the poker party at