The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-01-10
HOW THE NO ACCOUNT FERGY
WORKED THE GAME TO FINISH
Being Tale of the Town Gambler and Keen
Cutter, Who Put Different Meaning
on Respected Family Name

ana ne swan 10 the foat puffing ike
porpus.
But he showed confidence and when
he came on shore he offered to bet one
dollar to five that he could do it. This
looked like such a fine chance to skin
Fergy as he had skinned them more
than once that he got five bets on them
odds, the others holding back. being
scared OF Fergy. He dove the second
time, but staid under only three-quar-
ters Of a minute, though he come up as
confident as ever.
"By now there was big crowd gath.
cred and Fergy offered his pile at .
dollar for ten that he could do It.
got my ten in quick and We had Fergys
s34 distributed among us in no time
including the Sheriff. who was violating
the gambling law, and three candidates
of two parties with moral purity planks
in their platforms. Fergy asked the
leading undertaken of the town, who
was too pious to gamble, to BE- stake
holder, and he wrote out what he called
an explanation and give it to the under
taker TO read before paying over the
| stakes. We thought II was kind OF
funny to choose the undertaken but
Fergy had queer ways.
Ferry was smiling now with a sad,
| sweet smile showing how sorry he was
that he was going to win our money on
them terms, and some of the crowd be-
| gin to get scared, but | was SO sure
that l offered to bet any odds | would
win, and nobody was quite scared
enough to take me. Well, yes, Fergy
took me. I'm a goat II he didn't borrow
five dollars on his suit of clothes and
said he would bet II against twenty-five
of my money as a friend, and | handed
| the twenty-five to the undertaken
Then Fergy went to the water for
the third and last time and We all
swarmed around the stakeholder 10 get
ours before Fergy swum ashore and
worked some kind of a ti!mtiam on us
in his usual style. We thought We kne"
Fergy but | guess we didn't.
I'VE held our timepieces as he went
in and waited for him to come on,
Three-quarters OF a minute passed and
no Fergy showed up. Then a minute
two minutes, three minutes-cyerybody
begin to look sheeplsh and the Sheriff
asked somebody to kick hlm-f four min
utes, five and still no Fergy.
by now we got scared for sure
and some OF the boys on the float
went down to see what was the mat
ter. 1t was three quarters OF an hour
before they found out and then they
brought Fergy up, He had stayed under
water five minutes, all right, and had
won our money. but We went after
the stake holder just the same as soon
as 1t was decent.
He didn't know what to do, hut We
asked him to read the note Ferry had
left and that might throw SOM light
on the situation. 1t threw consider
able. 1t said that Thomas Jefferson
; Biggs hereby mar ID William Hask.ns.
undertaken of Hayfeld Centre, as his
sole executor and all the funds ms
possession belonging to him, the Sald
Thomas Jefferson Biggs, namely o WIZ
whatever amount had accrued from MS
earnings as a diver were TO Dee usel
: by said undertaken in giving The sara
Thomas jefferson Biggs, decels d, inc
finest funeral the money would ouy
and the kind friends who had Nr' the"
hard earned savings on his not D INK
able to stay under water iive W'N"''s
he wished as a final request to a'' a.
honorary pallbearers and ride III '"'
front OF the procession.
"Well, when We heard what the no'o
said we wanted to do someih'hE. pu.
there was reasons why we 'ou'D"
go to law to get our money u''N' 81
we just took what he done 10 Us a
his parting gift and every man "l vs.
that contributed to Fergy's funeral was
\ there in accordance with his las'
e wishes. 1t was some funeral too &c,
e me tell you, and taking It by anu
4 large | reckon it made better snow,
e ing for Fergy than If he had s''Eeu
5 over and gone to the pen w''N 'r ~
p later"