Ransom of the Red Chief by O.Henry

Ransom of the Red Chief by O.Henry

It looked like a good thing, but wait until I tell you. We were in Alabama — Bill Driscoll and me — when this kidnapping idea came to us. It was a crazy idea, but we didn’t realize it at that time.

There was a town down there, as flat as a cake, and called Summit, of course. The inhabitants of the town didn’t look dangerous at all.

Bill and I had a joint capital of about six hundred dollars, and we needed just two thousand dollars more for our little secret plan in Illinois. We discussed this on the front steps of the hotel.

“Summit is a good place for kidnapping,” I said. “Parents love their children in small towns. And there are no curious journalists.”

We knew that Summit couldn’t get after us with anything stronger than policemen and maybe some bloodhounds. So, the idea looked good.

We chose for our victim the only child of an important man named Ebenezer Dorset. Mr Dorset was respectable and stingy. The kid was a boy of ten with red freckles and red hair

A JOINT CAPITAL MEANS

Bill and I decided that Ebenezer Dorset would pay the ransom of two thousand dollars for his son. But wait until I tell you.

About two miles from Summit there was a little mountain and a forest. There was a cave in the mountain where we hid some food and drink.

One evening after sundown, we passed by the Dorsets’ house with a horse and buggy. The kid was in the street, throwing stones at a kitten.

“Hey, little boy!” said Bill. “Do you want a bag of candy and a nice ride?”

The boy threw a piece of brick at Bill’s eye.

“That will cost the old man an extra five hundred dollars!” said Bill.

The boy fought like a bear but at last we put him in the buggy and drove away. We took him to the cave and I tired the horse to a tree. That evening I took the horse and buggy back to the village and then I returned to the cave.

When I arrived there was a fire at the entrance of the cave. Bill had some scratches and bruises on his face. The boy had two big feathers in his red hair.

WHAT DOES THE RANSOM MEAN?

When I came up he pointed his stick at me and said:

“Ha! Paleface, this is the camp of Red Chief, the terror of the plains!”

“He’s all right now,” said Bill. He was examining some bruises on his legs. “We’re playing Indians. I’m a hunter called Old Hank and I’m Red Chief’s prisoner. He’s going to scalp me at daybreak. My God, that kid can hit hard!”

Yes, the boy was having a lot of fun. He forgot he was a prisoner himself. He immediately called me Snake Eye, the Spy, and said: “When the Indians return they will cook you on the fire at daybreak!” Then we had supper, and the kid filled his mouth with bacon and bread and gravy, and began to talk. He made a speech something like this: “I like this very much. I’ve never camped out before, but I had a pet opossum once, and I was nine last birthday. I hate to go to school. Are there any real Indians in the forest? I want some more gravy. We had five puppies. What makes your nose so red, Hank?

WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE PERSON WHOSE NOSE IS

RED ?

Every few minutes he remembered that he was Red Chief, took his stick rifle and looked out of the cave. “I want to see if there are any palefaces. I hate them!” Now and then he cried loudly and that made Old Hank shiver.

“Red Chief,” I said to the kid, “do you want to go home?”

“What for?” he asked. “I don’t have any fun at home. I hate to go to school. I like to camp out. Please don’t take me home, Snake Eye!”

“All right,” I said. “We’ll stay here in the cave for a while.”

“All right!” he said. “That’ll be fine. I’ve never had such fun in all my life.”

We went to bed at about eleven o’clock. Red Chief was between us. We weren’t afraid he’d run away.

FILL IN THE MOST SUITABLE PART OF THE SENTENCE HERE

We couldn’t sleep for three hours because he ................................................................ . At last I fell asleep, and dreamed that I had been kidnapped and tied to a tree by an angry pirate with red hair.

Just at daybreak, I was awakened by a series of terrible screams from Bill. It’s an awful thing to hear a strong, big, fat man scream like that.

I jumped up to see what the matter was. Red Chief was sitting on Bill’s chest. He was pulling Bill’s hair with one hand. In the other hand he had a knife. He was trying to take Bill’s scalp!

I took the knife from the kid and made him lie down again. But, from that moment, Bill’s spirit was broken. He never closed an eye again as long as that boy was with us. I slept a little but then I remembered that Red Chief wanted to cook me on the fire at the rising of the sun. I wasn’t nervous or afraid, but I sat up and lit my pipe. “Why did you get up so early, Sam?” asked Bill. “Me?” I said. “Oh, I’ve got a kind of a pain in my shoulder. I thought sitting up would help.” “You’re a liar!” said Bill. “You’re afraid. You’re afraid to be cooked on the fire! You’re afraid he’ll do it. And he will, if he can find a match. Isn’t it awful, Sam? Do you think anybody will pay money to get the little devil back home?”

“Sure,” I said. “Parents love noisy little devils. Now you cook breakfast and I’ll come back in a few minutes.”

I walked to the top of the little mountain and looked down. The town of Summit was quiet. No one was looking for the kid or the kidnappers. I expected to see the men of the village running about with pitchforks. But everything was quiet.

“Perhaps,” I thought, “they don’t know about the kidnapping yet.”

When I returned to the cave the boy was aiming at Bill with a large stone. The stone was as big as a coconut.

“He put a hot potato down my back and mashed it with his foot,” said Bill. “And I hit him for that. Have you got a gun, Sam?”

I took the stone away from the boy.

WHAT INSTRUMENT OR TOOL (IN YOUR VISION ) IS A PITCHFORK?

WHY DID SAM EXPECT TO SEE SOMEBODY RUNNING WITH IT?

“Be careful!” said the kid to Bill. “No one has ever hit Red Chief before!”

After breakfast the kid took a slingshot out of his pocket and went outside the cave.

“What is he going to do? Do you think he’ll run away, Sam?” asked Bill.

“No, he won’t. He doesn’t seem to be a home kid. But we’ve got to make a plan about the ransom. It seems that no one is worried in Summit about the boy’s disappearance. But maybe they haven’t realized that he has been kidnapped.

His father may think he’s spending the night with Aunt Jane or one of the neighbours. Anyhow, he’ll be missed to-day. To-night we must send a letter to his father and ask him for two thousand dollars.”

Just then we heard a loud cry. Red Chief was playing with the slingshot. Suddenly a stone the size of an egg hit Bill just behind his left ear. He fell in the fire across a pot of hot water for washing the dishes. I pulled him up and poured cold water on his head for half an hour.

When Bill could finally speak he said, “Don’t go away and leave me alone with the kid, please.”

I went out and caught that boy and shook him until his freckles rattled.

“If you don’t behave,” I said, “I’ll take you home. Now, are you going to be good, or not?” “I was only playing,” he said sadly. “I didn’t want to hurt Old Hank. But why did he hit me? I’ll behave, Snake Eye, but please don’t send me home. Can I play Black Scout today?»

“I don’t know the game,” I said. “That’s for you and Mr Bill to decide. Now, come in and make friends with him and say you are sorry for hurting him, or home you go, at once.”

I made him and Bill shake hands, and then I took Bill aside and told him:

“I’m going to Poplar Cove, a little village that is three miles from the cave. I want to find out if people there know anything about the kidnapping in Summit. Also, I think it best to send a letter to old man Dorset to-night.”

“You know, Sam,” said Bill, “I’ve stood by you in earthquakes, fire and flood — in poker games, police raids, train robberies and cyclones. I’ve never been afraid of anyone or anything. But I’m afraid of this kid. You won’t leave me long with him, will you, Sam?”

“I’ll be back in the afternoon,” I said. “You must keep the boy amused and quiet till I return. And now we’ll write a letter to Old Dorset.”

what does the author mean by saying

'until his freckles rattle" and

Bill and I started writing the letter. Red Chief was playing outside the cave. Bill begged me tearfully to make the ransom fifteen hundred dollars instead of two thousand.

“It isn’t human,” he said, “to ask $2,000 for that terrible kid. Let’s ask Mr Dorset for $1,500.” To make Bill happier I agreed, and we wrote the following letter:

Mr Dorset,

We have your boy hidden in a place far from Summit. Don’t try to find him. We want $1,500 in large bills for his return. The money must be left at midnight at the same place and in the same box as your answer to the letter. If you agree to pay the money, send your answer with a messenger to-night at half-past eight. After crossing Owl Creek, on the road to Poplar Cove, there are three large trees. There will be a small box under one of the trees. The messenger must put the answer in this box and return immediately to Summit.

If you don’t pay the money, you will never see your boy again.

If you pay the money, he will be returned to you safe and well in three hours.

Two desperate men.

I put the letter in my pocket. The kid looked at me and said, “Snake Eye, I want to play Black Scout.”

“Play it, of course,” I said. “Mr Bill will play with you. What kind of a game is it?”

“I’m Black Scout,” said Red Chief. “I have to ride to the fort to warn the settlers that the Indians are coming. I’m tired of playing Indians. I want to be a scout.”

“All right,” I said. “I think Mr Bill will play with you.”

“What must I do?” asked Bill.

“You’re my horse,” said Black Scout. “Get down on your hands and knees. How can I ride to the fort without a horse?”

“You’d better keep him interested,” I said to Bill.

Bill got down on his all fours, and there was a scared look in his eyes — like a rabbit caught in a trap.

What does the boy mean by writing these words in the story?

I’m Black Scout,” said Red Chief. “I have to ride to the fort to warn the settlers that the Indians are coming. I’m tired of playing Indians. I want to be a scout.”

“How far is it to the fort, kid?” asked Bill.

“Ninety miles,” said Black Scout. “And you must hurry to get there on time!”

Black Scout jumped on Bill’s back and kicked him.

“God, come back as soon as you can, Sam! Stop kicking me, kid!”

I went to Poplar Cove and talked to some people at the post office. One man said, “Old Ebenezer Dorset’s son has disappeared. Summit is upset because they can’t find him.”

That was all I wanted to know. I posted my letter and asked, “When is the postman taking the mail to Summit?”

“In an hour,” said a man at the post office. When I came back to the cave there was no one. I looked around but I couldn’t find anyone. So I sat down and waited. Half an hour later I heard a noise behind me. I turned around and saw Bill. He could hardly walk. The kid was behind him. He was walking silently like a scout and he had a broad grin on his face. Bill stopped, took off his hat and wiped his face with a red handkerchief.

“Sam,” said Bill, “You’ll think I’m a coward, but I’ve sent the kid home.”

“What’s the trouble, Bill?” I asked him.

“That was too much for me. He rode on my back for ninety miles. On the way he kicked my legs black-and-blue. He didn’t give me a chance to have a rest. I had to eat sand for lunch. A human cannot stand so much! But now he’s gone — gone home. I showed him the road to Summit and kicked him. I’m sorry we’ve lost the ransom, Sam, but that kid was terrible. I was going crazy!”

What motivated Bill to make the boy go away?

What was Ebenezer Dorset's main occupation?

I looked at Bill. He had the saddest look in his eyes I’d ever seen.

“Sam,” he said. “We’ve got $250. One more night with this kid and I’ll go crazy. Mr Dorset is a real gentleman. He’s made a wonderful offer. You aren’t going to let the chance go, are you?”

“To tell you the truth, Bill,” I said, “this little devil is getting on my nerves too. We’ll take him home, pay the ransom and leave this place.”

We took him home that night.

Find a sentence to match this gap ................

It was midnight when we arrived at Ebenezer’s house. Bill gave him the $250. When the kid saw that we were going to leave him at home he started screaming loudly and took Bill’s leg. His father pulled him away with great difficulty.

“How long can you hold him?” asked Bill.

“I’m not as strong as I used to be,” said Old Dorset, “but I think I can promise you ten minutes.”

“Enough,” said Bill. “In ten minutes I’ll cross most of the United States, and be near the Canadian border.”

Bill was fat and he was not a good runner. But that night no one ran faster than Bill.

Choose the ending