The Hiding of Black Bill (Henry)

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O. Henry

The Hiding of Black Bill

1903

Summary of the Short Story

Microsummary: A red-faced man, who was actually the train robber Black Bill, befriends a sheep rancher named H. Ogden and works as a sheep-herder on his ranch. When the authorities come looking for Black Bill, the red-faced man betrays his friend and collects the reward money.

In this story, a red-faced man named Ham meets up with his friend, a fat and seedy man named Snipy, at a train station. Ham tells Snipy about his recent experiences in Texas. He had been working as a sheep-herder on a ranch owned by a man named Henry Ogden.

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Red-faced man (Black Bill) — train robber; red-faced, strong, and lank.

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H. Ogden — sheep rancher; refined, calm, and wears nose-spectacles.

One day, a deputy sheriff and his posse arrived at the ranch, searching for a train robber named Black Bill. Ham, who was actually Black Bill, decided to betray Ogden and told the sheriff where to find him.

I am a poor man, and I have a widowed mother in Texarkana. You will find Black Bill lying asleep in this house on a cot in the room to your right. He's the man you want, as I know from his words and conversation.

Ogden was arrested and found to have stolen money in his possession. Ham had planted the money on him while he was asleep. Ogden was eventually able to prove his innocence and was released.

It was the slickest hide-out I ever see.

Ham and Snipy then board a train together. And a couple of hours afterward one Percival Saint Clair, an ex-sheep-herder of the Rancho Chiquito, might have been seen, with a hundred and nine dollars—wages and blood-money—in his pocket, riding south on another horse belonging to said ranch.