Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1926-04-30

KKF II NAbhlN dDOut blIdhSC lhihbS
a-happenin', did l ever tell
We about the rockin' chair
of my at-grandfatherr,
questioned Captain Barker, gazing
meditatively at the dancing flames In
the fireplace.
He had not, and we younger men
who had gathered in the old captains
house for a social chat, urged him to
tell the story.
swell, We see 1t was this way; My
great grandfather - Peters was his
name-was sea captain, an pretty
decent sort of chap at first, as I've
heard tell. But he got into bad com
pany, an Jest behaved scandalous. so
that his wife left him, an all his folks
that was way back in them old
times-wouldn't have nothin' to do
with him.
zone day, as he was crulsin' along
the Carolina coasts, he sighted an old
tub Of a ship that was lumberin'
along as though she was short-handed
or didn't care whether she got any
where. She didn't look very invitin',
but, havin nothing else to do, Captain
boarded her. She had only three men
for crew, an after tyin' 'em up he
went down into the cabin to see what
he could find An old woman was a,
sittin' there, knittin away as calm
an Industrious as though she had to-
CD lV,lc he xuyho 20
In world.
"'Who be yer she said, countin' her
stitches.
I'm Captain Peters, an I've took
this ship
eye have Where We goin' to take
itT
81 amt goin' to take 1t nowhere.
Pm a pirate, an I'm after what money
we've got
"'For the lands sake SO ye're a
pirate = she exclaimed. sit down, Gap
tain Peters, an be sociable a bit, an
tell me how piratln' agrees with ye.'
"While she was talkin' she pulled
forward rockin chair from a dark
corner, an, lookln' at 1t, Captain Pc
ters thought It was the curlOusest
chair he had ever seen. 1t was made
of bamboo, or somethin' like that, an
in the back an seat was woven pic.
lures of snakes an signs Of the zodi-
&C, an all sorts Of hlerOglyphlcal fig
ures Captain Peters looked at 1t, an
then at the old woman, hardly KNOWN
What IN moka NJ tha outfit
"'Sit down, Captain Peters, sit
down. continued the old woman with
a wave at the chair. 'Piratln' must
be dreadful harrOwln' to n sensitive
person like We be--butcherin' people
an throwln' 'em overheard, as We have
to do sometimes. Ye need cheerin'
up. an, besides, ] want to talk to ye,,
as | may never see another pirate
while I'm In this world, an I'm mighty
sure there amt any In heaven. I'm
awful 'bliged to we for COMM
"Well, Captain Peters was sort of
Aabbergasted by this kind Of talk, an
fool-lIke he set down on the chair, not
KNOWN what else to do. An then,
all at once, he began to laugh. What
he was laughin' at he didn't know, but
he kept on laughin' all the same.
He got so uproar'ous that some of his
crew run down to see what the fun
was about, but he could only wave his
hand at 'em an laugh an they went
on deck ag'in. Finally he got so weak
an red In the face that he could bare
ly glggle, an the old woman laid her
hand on his arm.
"There, now, Captain Peters,
never ag'in expect to see such cheer
full pirate as we be this blessed min
ute-lndeed don't It must be very
amusln' to board an old woman's ship
an take It from her. No wonder We
laugh. Ye needn't try to get up, cause
ye can't, as the captain made an ef-
fort TO rise from the chair. Now, lis
ten to me- When my husband was In
India he saved the life Of an old
Brahman priest, an beln' grateful the
priest gave him the chair ye're slttin'
on. The old Teller said II was ha'nted
or had a spell on 1t, so If any one sit
down on 1t he'd start to laughin' an
couldn't quit or get up till the owner
said so. Last summer my husband
died, an got the chair an am now
its owner Dye get all these facts,
Captain PetersY
"T guess so, an I'll make affidavy
they're facts-every one of emf an
swered the captain feebly, between
glggles. What do we want me to dor,
I'll do most anything to get out Of
this Internal chair
"T reckon We would, an I'm goin'
to give We the chair as ye seem to en-
joy sittin' on II so much Ye ought to
be grateful, Captain Peters, for havln'
such a hilarious time. Now We may
quit laughln' n bit an hear me. I'm
goin' to call down some Of yer crew,
an ye must tell 'em to take We, chair
an all, an put ye on yer own ship.
Then ye must sail away, an when
ye're out Of sight an hearin', so ye
can't find me ag'in, yen be the owner
Of the chair an the spell will be lifted
from ye. An, mind ye, bein' the own
er, II We want to give any other pirate
a season Of hllarlty all ye'ye got to
do Is to get him TO sit down on the
chair. VIII We do as ! sny, or do ye
want to stay here an die Of laughin'r
"'My good woman said Captain Pc
ters, solemnly. when die I don't
want any laughlu' o goip' ID. either
on my part or from gHFbnf hats