The Ransom of Red Chief (Henry)

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The Ransom of Red Chief

1907

Summary of the Short Story

Microsummary: Two men kidnapped a boy, hoping to receive a ransom from his father. However, the boy proved to be troublesome, and the father demanded they pay him to take the child back.

In a small town in Alabama, two men named Sam and Bill decided to kidnap a boy named Johnny to demand a ransom of $2,000 from his father, Ebenezer Dorset.

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Sam — narrator; one of the kidnappers; Bill's partner in crime; cunning, resourceful, and patient.

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Bill Driscoll — kidnapper; Sam's partner in crime; fat, strong, easily frustrated, and terrorized by Johnny.

They believed that the town would not be able to put up much of a fight against them, and that the father would be willing to pay the ransom to get his son back. They chose Johnny because he was the only child of a prominent citizen, and they thought his father would be more likely to pay the ransom.

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Johnny Dorset (Red Chief) — kidnapped boy; 10 years old; freckled, red-haired, imaginative, mischievous, and troublesome.

Sam and Bill took Johnny to a cave in a nearby mountain, where they planned to keep him until the ransom was paid. However, Johnny turned out to be a handful, causing the kidnappers much trouble and frustration. He was imaginative and mischievous, constantly playing games and causing problems for the kidnappers. He even tried to scalp Bill with a knife, which left Bill terrified of the boy.

'Hey, little boy!' says Bill, 'would you like to have a bag of candy and a nice ride?'

Despite the difficulties they faced with Johnny, Sam and Bill sent a letter to Ebenezer Dorset demanding the ransom. They instructed him to leave the money in a specific location and warned him not to involve the authorities. However, when they received a response from the father, he counter-offered that the kidnappers pay him $250 to take the boy back.

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Ebenezer Dorset — Johnny's father; respectable, tight, and stern; a mortgage fancier and collection-plate passer.

'You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take him off your hands.'

Desperate to be rid of the troublesome child, Sam and Bill agreed to the father's terms. They returned Johnny to his home and paid Ebenezer Dorset the $250. As they left, Johnny clung to Bill, not wanting to leave his captors. Ebenezer had to peel his son away from Bill, promising to hold him for ten minutes so the kidnappers could make their escape.

Sam and Bill fled the town, with Bill running as fast as he could to put as much distance between himself and Johnny as possible. In the end, the kidnappers not only failed to get the ransom they had hoped for, but they also ended up paying the father to take his own son back.