This story takes place in Rockingham in the early to mid
1950’s -- both in the Pee Dee area as well as the Five Points
area.  The main characters are Dutch and his drinking
buddies, Dub, Sid (Sidney), Jake (Jacob), and of course the
“Devil.”  Now Dutch McWynters was not a completely bad
man.  Although, there were many in the Rockingham area
who held that opinion including the congregation of the
Pee Dee Church and most of his neighbors.  Dutch was an
aggravation to his family including his in-laws.  He could be
somewhat violent when drunk.  His wife and children were
afraid of him.  Dutch always stayed away from his father-in-
law’s (Mr. Dan Duncan) house next door.  This was mostly
because his father-in-law was such a devout Christian man,
and was known for that devout reputation all over
Rockingham and Richmond County.  Mr. Duncan was the
only one who tried to help Dutch anymore.  Dan never said
anything negative or condescending to his son-in-law, and
Dan was a good listener.


Dutch served in Patton’s Third Army during World War II.  
Although he had a terrible Army record, he’d done well in
combat including receiving the Purple Heart.  On two
occasions, Dutch earned battlefield promotions to
Sergeant.  He was busted once for insubordination and
twice for barroom brawls.  He did quite well against the
Germans, and he didn’t do too poorly against the other
soldiers in his own division either.  He was the type of man
you would want to avoid if at all possible.   


His real name was Holland S McWynters.  His mother told
him that she had a difficult time coming up with a suitable
name for him.  His middle name was “S”; it was not an
abbreviation for some other name.  All the family given
names were already taken by his numerous cousins.  
However, his mother wanted him to have his own unique
name.  They lived on East Holland Drive at the time; so, his
mother decided to call him Holland.  He never liked his
given name, but he did like his nickname “Dutch,” even
though he was of Scotch-Irish descent and not Dutch
descent.    


Dutch was thirty something.  He had two sons and two
daughters at home.  His wife, children, and in-laws
attended the Pee Dee Church.  Dutch just didn’t go to
Church.  Not no-way, not no-how.  Their rented house was
less than a half-mile from the Church, well within walking
distance for his family.  Very few working class people had
cars back in those days, especially not mill workers.  In the
past, he had various mill jobs, but he was always fired for
drinking, fighting, or both drinking and fighting.  Also
within walking distance was Joe’s Bar and Billiards at Five
Points.  At that time, Five Points was on the main US
highway 74 which came right through the center of town.  
This was the principal highway from Charlotte to the coast.  
There was no bypass until over four decades after this
time.  Joe’s place looked like a brick building that had been
whitewashed.  It had an overhanging roof all around the
building covering the sidewalk.  It had alternating green
and orange blinking neon lights attached to the eaves.  
Back in those days, beer was the only legal alcoholic
beverage in the State.  You just had to drink more beer
than hard liquor to have the same affect.  That is, two beers
has the about the same affect as one mixed drink (when
combined with water, tonic, et cetera).  It took about eight
beers to get Dutch drunk since his body had build up a
tolerance to alcohol.      


Dutch’s wife, Doris, and Dan Duncan both worked at Pee
Dee Mill # 2.  Although Dutch was occasionally able to
mooch some money from his family and father-in-law, he
mainly supported his drinking habit by betting on pool.  
However, he rarely had any money left over to help pay the
rent or put food on the table.  Moreover, even though he
was an excellent pool player, he sometimes would resort to
intimidation in order to win his bets.  None of the locals
would gamble with Dutch for money.  This included his
friends.  Dutch was a big man, at least six feet high, and at
least two hundred pounds.  Everyone knew he was an
excellent fighter and needed little to get him started.  His
main victims were the highway travelers who stopped in at
Joe’s to have a couple of beers. Despite his fighting, the
other locals at the bar seemed to like Dutch.  He enjoyed
talking about the War among other things.  They were
usually playing pool with each other as they were waiting
on the next unwary traveler to stop in.  There were only
two codes of ethics for these gentlemen.  First, you were
not allowed to kill anyone (so no knife or gun fights).  
Second, if you made a bet without the money on hand, you
were absolute honor bound to pay your gambling debt as
soon as possible.  Anyone who welshed on a bet was the
lowest of the low down dirty varmints.  It wasn’t
particularly healthy either.         


Then one night a new sojourner arrived.  He was dressed
in a black tuxedo with spit-shined shoes.  He carried a pool
stick in a fancy case with a decal reading “POOL SHARK.”  
He had a name badge that read “Lucifer.”  He also
appeared to be thirty something.  He had jet-black hair and
a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee that would make
any Frenchman proud especially one from New Orleans.  
He was tall and thin, but not muscular.  Certainly no
physical match for Dutch.  He had more of a Yankee accent
or maybe a midwestern accent.  He certainly didn’t sound
like a Carolina boy.


The stranger rented a pool table for the night and ordered
a beer.  He kept ordering beers, but he never drank any of
them; he just put them up in the window. The owner didn’t
care if he drank them or not, just as long as he kept paying
for them.  He assembled his fancy pool stick and started
playing pool all by himself.  He appeared to not know much
about the game.  He had trouble getting the balls into the
triangular rack; plus he had to ask someone where to put
the rack on the table.  That is, should the rack go in the
middle of the table or what?  Then, he tried to shoot the
white cue ball with a sudden jerk that caused it to jump
over the numbered balls and land on the floor.  That would
be a severe embarrassment for just about any self-
respecting pool player.  Then after some practice, he finally
was able to shoot the cue ball and actually hit one of the
numbered balls, but he seemed to have great difficulty
getting any of the numbered balls into any of the pockets.  
However, he didn’t seem to have much trouble getting the
cue ball to go into a pocket.  This went on for about thirty
minutes.  The locals were getting curious.  Dub, one of the
regulars, asked the stranger: “Hey, who are you mister?”  
The stranger replied: “I am the Devil.  Can’t you see my
name tag?”  This brought complete silence to the entire
barroom.  The regulars didn’t know whether to believe him
or not.  He didn’t particularly look like the Devil.


Sid, also one of the regulars, asked him:  “Would you like
us to give you some pool lessons?  We have some pretty
good players here, and there are many a man who wished
he had never darkened our door.”  The stranger replied:
“Sir, I am a pool shark!  I’m just trying to get some of you
dudes to think I’m not any good by appearing to be a
klutz.”  Jake then butted in:  “Do you think we are some
sort of fools?  You sure don’t look like a pool shark to me.”  
Then the stranger replied: “Would you amateurs like to put
your money where your mouth is?”


That was all Dutch needed to hear to get involved:  “Sure
we’ll wager you; what do you have in mind?”  The stranger
came back: “Since I am a pool shark, I don’t want you
gentlemen breaking my knuckles when I complete your
education. So, I’ll make you an unusual bet that you can’t
refuse.  I’ll bet $100 that I can beat the best of any one of
you.  I’ll pay you $100 if you beat me fair and square.  
However, if I win, I won’t take any of your money since I
don’t want my knuckles broken.  If I win, you have to do
something for me that you really won’t want to do.”  For
the edification of you younger readers, $100 back then
would be more like $800 today due to inflation.  A typical
mill worker back then might make $40 per week before
paying taxes and the expenses of working such as food at
work, work clothes, and the cost of bus fare.


Dutch responded: “Just what is it we have do for you if you
win?  Kill someone or rob a bank?”  All thirty or so of the
patrons at Joe’s bar were now giving their entire attention
to this discussion.  Even Joe was starting to get involved
and said: “We don’t want any fights now.  I don’t want ya’ll
trashing the joint.”  Joe then turned back to his customers.  
Business was really picking up.  The stranger then replied:  
“I’ll think of something.  Now what would be the worse
thing you guys could do for me that would be both legal
and moral?”  The entire room was silent waiting for an
answer.  Then from across the room a short baldheaded
man said: “Make them go to church.”  


The stranger said:  “That’s it!  If I win, you guys who bet
with me will have to go to church every night for a week.”  
Then the baldheaded man added: “There’s a revival at the
Pee Dee Church next week.  It starts next Monday night
and ends Sunday.  It would sure be worth a $100 to see
them do that.”


Dutch replied: “You mean all we have to do is go to church
if you win, and you will give anyone who bets with you a
$100 if I win?”  The stranger said: “That's about the gist of
it.  To fulfill the bet, you have to be to Church on time and
you have to be sober, clean-shaven, and dressed in the best
attire you have even if it’s overalls.  You don’t have to
participate in the service if you don’t want to, but you can’t
disrupt the service.  You stand when they stand, and bow
your head when they do.  You don’t have to sing if you don’t
want to.  You have to stay until the benediction.  You don’t
have to talk to anyone, but when they greet you or welcome
you, you have to be civil even if you just nod your head.”


Dutch called a huddle with Dub, Sid, and Jake to discuss
the proposal.  Jake told them:  “Dutch, you’re the best pool
player in town, maybe even the whole State.  You’ll whoop
him easily.  Just think of the easy money from this moron.”  
Dub butted in: “I know this ain’t costing us no money, but
the thought of going to church for a week makes me want
to puke.”  Sid interjected: “I don’t mind puking for $100.”  
Dutch said: “Wonder if he really is the Devil like he says?  
Naw, he can’t be the Devil.  The Devil wouldn’t want us to
go to church.”  So, the quartet decided that they would
each bet with the stranger with Dutch playing against him.


Dutch told the stranger that each of the four of them would
accept his bet.  The stranger replied: “Okay, straight pool,
best out of eleven games.  The only condition was that if the
first player played a perfect game without the opponent
even having a shot, then the opponent would be given the
opportunity to tie the game by duplicating the perfect
game.


Dutch won the ball roll and went first.  That is, they each
shot a ball toward an empty opposite side.  The ball that
remained closest to the opposite side determined who
went first.  Dutch was very good and proud of it.  He won
the first five games without the ”Devil” ever taking a shot.  
Then Dutch just barely missed sinking the five ball in the
sixth game.  Then the stranger started his turn.  He
completed the series by winning that game and the
following five without Dutch getting another shot.  This, of
course, made him the final winner.  Then the stranger
packed his case and left without saying another word.


The whole barroom was filled with astonishment and
disbelief.  Sid, Dub, Jake, and Dutch sat in the far corner
table finishing their beers.  Sid said: “Do we really have to
do that…go to church, that is?”  Jake replied: “If someone
welshed on a gambling debt they owed us, we’d hurt him
pretty bad, wouldn’t we?  There’s nothing worse than
someone who doesn’t pay his gambling debts.  If we don’t
do exactly what we said we’d do in front of the entire
barroom, then we will have a difficult time making people
pay us when they lose.”  Dutch finally concluded: “Guys, we
have to go to Church just like we said we would if we lost
the bet.  It won’t kill any of us.  We don’t have to
participate; we just have to be there.  Any of you who
doesn’t show up next Monday will have to answer to me,
and I’ll tell you now that I won’t be in a good mood if that
were to happen.”         


Well, next Monday night finally arrived.  The service
started on time at 7:30.  When Dutch and his friends
showed up, they sat in the last pew in the back.  All the
children in the church ran to their mothers.  This was quite
a shock for the Church people.  Dutch was the meanest,
‘baddest’ man in the whole town, and here he was sitting in
the Pee Dee Church.  Actually, Dutch had gone to Church
when he was a child, but he hadn’t been back in the last
twenty-five years, that is, until now.  Mr. Dan Duncan was
there and welcomed Dutch and his friends with little
fanfare.  He certainly didn’t want to embarrass his son-in-
law or his friends.  Actually, Mr. Duncan had heard of the
wager that Dutch had lost, but he didn’t mention it to
anyone including his daughter.  No one else in the Church
(at least not the regulars nor the Church members) was
aware that the four men were there to pay a gambling debt.


The pastor introduced and welcomed the evangelist.  The
evangelist didn’t pay any special attention to Dutch or his
friends.  The service went normally as services go.  The
choir sang and the preacher preached.  The evangelist was
a nice looking young man from Minneapolis.  Some of the
ladies said they thought he was in his late thirties.  He was
cleanly shaven with blonde hair (it might have looked a
little bleached).  He was tall and thin, and he wore a white
suit.  A particular attraction was the pianist who traveled
with the evangelist, a short man who if you looked closely
was wearing a toupee.  He could really play that piano.  He
would play religious and sacred solos on the piano.  The
congregation really enjoyed hearing him play.  They
probably didn’t know he was playing honky-tonk piano.  He
probably wouldn’t have gotten by with it if he played that
style on Sunday.  But, during the week, why not?


The week went by, and Sunday was here.  Jake asked
Dutch if they had to go twice on Sunday or if Sunday
morning was okay.  Dutch told him to do whatever he
wanted to do.  Dutch found out that these Church people
were some very nice people, and no one hounded him for
his drinking and gambling.  He had an instant set of
friends.  To make a long story short, Dutch continued to go
to church every Sunday morning and eventually with his
wife and children.  His children were happy to finally have
a father they could respect.  His trips to the pool hall
became increasingly less frequent until he didn’t go at all.  
That’s where we leave the story.


Several months later when the pastor was talking to Mr.
Duncan, he mentioned that the evangelist used to be a
champion tournament pool player before he became a
Christian and traveling evangelist.  He claimed he had
beaten the famous pool player, Minnesota Fats, once, but
that he also had lost to him several times, too.  Mr. Duncan
replied: “God answers prayer in unusual ways sometimes.”