The Ransom of Red Chief

The narrator and his friend, Bill Driscoll, decide to kidnap a child for two thousand dollars as part of a fraudulent scheme to sell plots of land in Western Illinois. They select a ten-year-old boy, Johnny , from the small Southern town of Summit and take him to a cave two miles away. However, instead of being scared, the little boy is extremely happy and seems to be having the time of his life. The two friends believe that kidnapping will be an easy way to make money, but their plans go awry when the boy, whom they name Red Chief, turns out to be a wild and uncontrollable child. Will Bill and Sam succeed in getting the ransom money, or will the boy turn out to be a little demon for the kidnappers? Read this humorous story to find out the fate of the helpless kidnappers.