The Leader of the Redskins plot briefly. "Leader of the Redskins": the main characters of the story by O. Henry. "Leader of the Redskins" plot

If you ask the average Russian about what works of William Sidney Portrera he read, then in 90% of cases you will receive only a perplexed look and an indefinite shrug in response. Yes, this writer is not popular with our readers. But if you ask what the novelist O'Henry wrote, then these same 90% will happily recall the story "The Leader of the Redskins." Anyone can tell a summary of this novel, even if he is not lucky enough to hold the book itself. But he probably watched the wonderful Soviet film adaptation with Georgy Vitsin and Alexei Smirnov in the lead roles.

For those who have not yet read this wonderful story and have not watched Gaidai's film "Business People", we will try to tell you what exactly the story "The Leader of the Redskins" is about. The summary is unlikely to be very short, but ... "Mukhtar will try." So let's get started.

O'Henry. "Leader of the Redskins": a summary of the novella

The naive American childless bachelors - Sam and Bill - decided to start not distributing Herbalife, but kidnapping. They decided that if they kidnapped the only son of a local rich man, he would pay them at least a couple of thousand dollars for returning to the offspring. This is how the novel "Leader of the Redskins" begins. Its summary follows below.

No sooner said than done, the boy is lured with a promise to show something very interesting and, despite resistance, he is taken far into the mountains. After waiting for some time, one of the bandits goes on reconnaissance, he is very interested in what they say about this crime of the century in the town, and a letter to the inconsolable father with the terms of the heir ransom must be sent.

The town is in a joyful mood. The entire population is literally ready to pray for the unknown idiots-kidnappers. The boy managed to annoy all residents, without exception. It would seem that a reasonable person should think about the fact that it is unlikely that they will pay at least 2 cents for the return of such a "treasure", let alone two thousand dollars. But our hero decides that the more intolerable the child, the stronger the parental love for him. He sends dad a letter with the ransom terms and returns to his partner in the most optimistic mood.

Meanwhile, Bill's business is not so happy. The kidnapped tomboy decided to come off full program and proclaimed himself a real Indian, and the head of the tribe. Yes, you just remembered the name “The Leader of the Redskins”. The summary is still not the story itself, and it is not able to convey all the bullying that Johnny (such a name was given to the boy by his loving parents) subjected the unfortunate bandits. After three days of being in the company with the restless tomboy, they were ready to drop everything and run anywhere. But ... no one has ever managed to escape Johnny just like that.

So ours has come to an end summary of the story "The Leader of the Redskins". The end of the novel is natural. Our heroes also had to pay daddy for keeping his son on a leash for at least half an hour, and during this time they would have time to rush to the Canadian border.

Two adventurers - the narrator Sam and Bill Driscoll - have already made some money, and now they need a little more to indulge in land speculation. They decide to kidnap the son of one of the wealthiest residents of a small town in Alabama, Colonel Ebenezer Dorsett. The heroes have no doubt that the father will calmly lay out two thousand dollars for his beloved child. Seizing the moment, the friends attack the boy and, although he “fought like a brown bear of average weight,” they take him on a cart to the mountains, where they hide in a cave. However, the boy is delighted with his new position and does not want to go home at all. He declares himself the leader of the Redskins, Bill - the old hunter Hank, a prisoner of the formidable Indian, and Sam receives the nickname Snake Eye. The child promises to remove the scalp from Bill, and, as it later turns out, his words do not differ from his deeds. At dawn, Sam wakes up with wild screams. He sees that a boy is sitting astride Bill and is trying to scalp him with the knife they used to cut the brisket. Bill has his first doubts that anyone in their right mind would be willing to pay money to return such a treasure. However, having gone on an investigation, Sam really does not notice any signs of anxiety in the Dorsett house.

Meanwhile, the situation in the camp is heating up, and seasoned crooks find themselves helpless in the face of the antics of their captive, who has perfectly entered the role of the leader of the Redskins. At the insistence of Bill, on whose shoulders the main burden of protecting the prisoner falls, the ransom is reduced to one and a half thousand. After which Sam goes with a letter to the nearest mailbox, and Bill remains to guard the child.

Upon his return, Sam learns that Bill could not stand the test and sent the boy home. “I rode all ninety miles to the outpost, not an inch less. And then, when the settlers were saved, they gave me oats. Sand is not an important substitute for oats. And then I had to explain for a whole hour why there is emptiness in the holes, why the road goes in both directions and why the grass is green. Bill admits his guilt to his partner, but assures that if the child remained, he, Bill, would have to be sent to an insane asylum. But Bill's happiness is short-lived. Sam asks him to turn around, and behind his back his friend discovers the leader of the Redskins. However, the matter is drawing to a close. Colonel Dorsett believes the kidnappers asked for too much. For his part, he makes a counter offer. For two hundred and fifty dollars, he is ready to take his son back. He only asks to bring the child under the cover of darkness, since the neighbors hope that he is gone, and the father does not guarantee what they can do with those who bring him back. Sam is outraged, but Bill begs him to agree with Colonel Dorsett's generous offer (“He’s not only a gentleman, he’s also a wasteful”).

Exactly at midnight, Sam and Bill betray the boy brought home by deception to their father. Realizing that he was tricked, he grabs Bill's leg with a stranglehold, and his father rips him off, "like a sticky plaster." When asked how long the colonel will be able to keep the child, Dorsett says that his strength is no longer the same, but he vouches for ten minutes. “In ten minutes,” Bill says, “I’ll cross the Central, Southern and Midwest States and make it to the Canadian border.”

Retold

The short story "The Leader of the Redskins" was created by the American writer O. Henry at the beginning of the last century and was included in the collection "Rotation" published in 1910.

The novel was first translated into Russian in 1915. O. Henry's work was filmed several times. Filmmakers often gave their own names. The book was adapted twice in the USSR. In the early 60s, the film "Business People" was shot in the Soviet Union based on a short story by an American writer.

The plot about kidnappers forced to pay for the return of the kidnapped to their relatives was widely disseminated and was repeatedly used in fiction and cinematography.

The story is about the face of Sam, one of the kidnappers. Sam and Billy are up to a serious adventure. They plan to engage in speculation on land. Most of the start-up capital for starting a "business" has already been earned, but this is not enough. How much more time you need to devote to earn the missing part of the money is unknown. To get the sum as quickly as possible, the accomplices devised a plan to kidnap Johnny, the son of Colonel Ebenezer Dorsett, the richest resident in a small town in Alabama. The criminals are sure that the father, without hesitation, will give 2 thousand dollars to return the child home.

Waiting for the right moment, Sam and Billy attack the boy. The colonel's son desperately resists, but he cannot master two grown men. The criminals kidnap Johnny and take him to a cave in the mountains. The joy of the accomplices was short-lived. As it turned out, the colonel's son was sure from the very beginning that everything that was happening was nothing more than an exciting game. The boy does not even dream of returning home. The abduction becomes an exciting adventure for him. Johnny immediately gets into the "game" and comes up with new names for all the participants. He calls himself the leader of the Redskins. Sam becomes Serpent's Eye, and Billy becomes Hank the hunter.

Waking up one morning from heartbreaking screams, Sam discovers that the abducted man is sitting astride his accomplice and is trying to remove his scalp with a knife. Having barely freed himself from the "leader", Billy makes assumptions that the boy's family probably will not want to take him home. Nobody will pay money for the return of the little "monster". Sam goes to scout the colonel's house and finds no signs of concern about Johnny's absence in the house.

Aggravation of the situation

Dorsett Jr.'s antics are becoming increasingly unbearable. The boy, having thoroughly entered the role of the leader of the Redskins, comes up with new fun every day. It is especially hard for Billy, since it is on him that the whole burden of worries about the prisoner lies.

In the end, "Hunter Hank" persuades to lower the ransom. Sam is forced to agree and write a letter to the colonel. While Snake Eye was busy sending the letter, Billy let Johnny go home. "Hank" feels guilty before his accomplice, but assures that if he were alone with the boy for even a few more hours, he would certainly go crazy. Billy enjoyed his deliverance briefly. Before he had time to finish the story, Johnny suddenly appeared behind him.

Meanwhile, the boy's father, having received the letter, decided that the kidnappers were asking too much. The colonel makes a counter offer to the criminals: he is ready to save the accomplices from his son for only $ 250. The only condition is that the child must be brought home in the dark. The Dorsetts' neighbors had already had time to rejoice at Johnny's disappearance. If they see Sam and Billy bringing him back, the adventurers are unlikely to be able to get away alive. The Serpent's Eye is furious at such a proposal. However, Billy persuades him to agree.

To safely bring the "leader" home, the criminals had to cheat. Exactly at midnight, the boy was brought to his father. When Johnny realized he had been tricked, he grabbed Hank's leg. The colonel had to tear his son off the attacker's leg "like a sticky plaster." Dorsett informs the kidnappers that his strength is no longer the same, which means that he will not be able to restrain Johnny for too long. Sam and Billy only have 10 minutes to hide. But after this time, the "leader" can break free and catch up with his new friends.

Sam and Billy

The "resourceful guys" do not intend to live honestly, because, in their opinion, there is no honest big money. They worked hard and long to accumulate sufficient funds to engage in speculation. However, when it turned out that there was not enough money to open a "business", Sam and Billy decided to fulfill their dream with the help of another scam.

However, the cunning and dexterity of "hardened" criminals was defeated by stupidity and immediacy. Perhaps the accomplices were preparing for clashes with the police, persecution, etc. Instead, something else awaited them, for which they were not prepared. We can say that Sam and Billy faced their own kind and, as a result, were the losers.

It's difficult to judge Johnny Dorsett's character, since he is still a child. However, not every boy his age in the city can be “proud” of such “achievements”. Johnny managed to get bored not only with his own family, but also with those around him. The neighbors, according to the colonel, will deal with those who return the missing boy home.

Finding himself in unfamiliar conditions, the “leader of the Redskins” does not get lost and does not give in to panic. Johnny is not used to being afraid of anyone. On the contrary, it is he who instills fear in everyone. It never occurs to the boy that he is in great danger. He feels his superiority over adult strong men. Ultimately, Johnny's behavior helps to avoid paying the ransom.

Analysis of the work

Crime, as such, was not considered a major atrocity among the inhabitants of the Wild West, who came to an unfamiliar continent in search of better life... The American nation was formed on the basis of a common mentality and common ideas: work as much as possible and you will be rich. A person who has achieved success is honored and respected by others. How the money was made is of no interest to anyone. The end justifies the means, and the successful citizen becomes a role model.

We invite you to read a summary of the only novel by the American writer O. Henry “Kings and Cabbage”, which takes place in the exotic evergreen forests of Latin America.

The novel by O. Henry “The Last Leaf”, included in the collection “The Burning Lamp”, is one of the author's masterpieces, and helps to take a fresh look at life and its value.

Sam and Billy have decided on a rather serious crime. Despite the fact that the accomplices did not plan to kill or torture their victim, they could pay dearly for what they did. The comic situation presented in the novel is that it is not obvious criminals, but a respectable resident of the city that turns out to be really cunning and calculating. The Colonel never misses an opportunity to earn an extra $ 250. Having quickly learned the rules of the game, Dorsett turns the situation in his favor and does not lose, but receives money. Johnny, not yet possessing life experience and worldly wisdom, acts instinctively. But even now we can say about this child that he will "go far."

The deal, at first glance, seemed to us profitable ... But wait, let me tell you everything in order.

Bill Driscoll and I were at that time in the South, in Alabama. It was there that we got a brilliant idea about the kidnapping. It must have been, as Bill would later say, that a temporary clouding of mind had come over us, but we only realized that much later.

There is one small town there, flat as the bottom of a frying pan, and, of course, it is called Vertis, that is, "Tops". A harmless and contented redneck lives in it.

At the time, Bill and I had six hundred dollars for two, and we needed at least another two thousand for one operation with land plots in Western Illinois. So we talked about this, sitting on the porch of the hotel in Vertis. A kidnapping followed by a ransom, Bill convinced me, was a lot easier to pull off here than in the regular newspaper that would scream and send out disguised reporters in all directions. Besides, the town can't send anyone after us except some deputy sheriff and a couple of the victim's neighbors.

It seemed to turn out well.

We chose the only son of the most prominent inhabitant of Vertis as the victim. His name was Ebenezer Dorset. He was a respectable and very tight-fisted man who bought up overdue mortgages and was in charge of Sunday church fees. The boy looked about ten years old, his face was covered with freckles, and his hair was about the same color as the covers of magazines in kiosks at railway stations. Bill and I figured that Dorset Sr., without hesitation, would pay us two thousand for his child, and decided not to settle for less.

About two miles from the town was a small mountain with gentle slopes overgrown with dense pine forests. There was a cave on the far side of this hill. There we piled up a supply of provisions and began to implement our plan.

One evening we drove in a gig past the house of old Dorset. The boy wandered about in the street and shot stones at a kitten that climbed the fence.

- Hey guy! Bill called out to him. - Want to take a ride and get a bag of candy?

The boy, without hesitation, hit Bill right in the eye with a piece of brick.

“Okay,” Bill said, climbing over the side of the wagon and holding on to his face. - It will cost the old man an extra five hundred dollars ...

The guy, frankly, fought like a medium-sized grizzly, but we still tied him up and pushed him to the bottom of the cart. When we got there, we took him to a cave, and I tied the horse in a pine forest. As soon as it got dark, I drove the cart to the farm, where we rented it, and from there I returned on foot.

I look: Bill is covering the abrasions on his face with plaster. A bonfire is burning behind the rock at the entrance to the cave, and our guy with two hawk feathers in red hair does not take his eyes off the boiling coffee pot.

I come closer, and he aims at me with a stick and says:

“Damn white man, how dare you come to the camp of the Redskin chieftain named Prairie Storm?

“He and I play Indians,” Bill says, pulling up his pants to get a better look at the bruises on his ankles. - Compared to us, the circus is purely views of the Holy Land in an album with pictures. I, you know, old hunter Hank, a captive of the chief, and in the morning they will strip my scalp and then burn to hell. Holy great martyrs! And this guy is healthy to fight with his feet!

Yes, sir, the boy was playing with might and main. He liked living in the cave, he forgot to think that he himself was a hostage. Without thinking twice, he called me the Serpent's Eye and announced that when his best warriors returned from the campaign, I, too, would be roasted at the stake at sunrise. When we sat down to dinner, our guy stuffed his mouth with bread and bacon and made a drinking speech with something like this:

- Here you have great! I have never lived in the forest yet; but I once had a tame possum, and on my last birthday I turned nine whole ... I hate going to school. Are there real Indians here in the forest? .. I want some more gravy ... Why is the wind blowing? Because the trees are swaying? .. We had five puppies ... Hank, why is that red nose you have? .. My dad has money, apparently invisibly ... Are the stars hot? .. On Saturday, I beat Ed Walker twice in a row ... I don't like girls! .. Why are oranges round? .. Do you have beds in the cave? .. The parrot can speak, but there is no fish ... A dozen - how much will it be? ..

Every five minutes the guy recalled that he was an Indian, and, grabbing his stick, which he called a gun, sneaked to the exit from the cave - to track down the scouts of the damned pale-faced. From time to time he let out a battle cry that made old hunter Hank shiver. Yes, sir, poor Bill was scared to death by this boy from the very beginning.

“Hey,” I tell him, “Prairie Storm, don’t you want to go home?”

- Why didn't I see there? - he answers. - I like the forest. You won't drag me home, Snake Eye, will you?

“Until I’m dragging,” I say. - We will live a little longer in the cave.

- That's great! He says. - I've never had so much fun in my life.

We went to bed shortly before midnight. They spread blankets in the cave, laid the leader of the Redskins, and lay down on both sides. For three hours in a row, he would not let us fall asleep - every now and then jumped up, grabbing his gun. With every crack of a branch or rustle of leaves, he fancied that either a band of robbers or a hostile tribe were creeping up to the cave. In the end, I nevertheless fell asleep with a disturbing dream, and I dreamed that I was kidnapped and chained to a tree by a stout red-haired pirate with a wooden leg and a rusty cleaver.

But I didn't have to bask for a long time: at dawn I was literally pulled out of my sleep by Bill's heart-rending squeal. Not a scream, not a scream, not a roar, which one would expect from the vocal cords of an adult man, but a completely obscene, eerie, humiliating, tearing eardrum screech. This is how women squeal at the sight of a ghost or a hairy caterpillar. It's terrible, I can tell you, when at early dawn a plump, strong and, in general, brave man squeals in the cave.

I jumped up to see what happened. Prairie Storm sat on Bill's chest, grabbing his hair with one hand. In another, he held a sharpened knife and busily tried to rip the scalp off Bill, that is, in the most unequivocal manner he carried out the sentence that he himself had pronounced on him the night before.

With difficulty I took the knife away from the boy and laid it down again. But from that fateful moment, Bill's spirit finally broke. He stretched out on his side of the bed, but in all the time that the guy stayed with us, he never closed his eyes again. I took a short nap, but by sunrise I suddenly remembered that the leader of the Redskins had threatened to roast me at the stake at that very time. Not to say that I was very nervous, but nevertheless I got out of the cave, filled my pipe, lit a cigarette from the still smoldering coal and leaned my back against the rock.

- What are you doing so early, Sam? Bill asks.

- I? Yes, there was something in my shoulder. I think it might become easier if you sit.

“You're lying,” Bill says. - You're just afraid. He promised to burn you at dawn, and you think he will. And I would have burned it if I had figured out where I hid the matches. Look, Sam, this is horror. Are you really sure that someone will pay at least a quarter to bring this fiend back home?

“I'm sure,” I say. - These are the very ones that dads and mothers adore. Now, you and Prairie Storm, get up and start cooking, and I will climb the mountain and take a good look around.

I climbed to the top of our slide and looked around the area. On the side where the town was located, I expected to see a crowd of farmers with scythes and pitchforks, scouring every bush in search of insidious kidnappers. Instead, I was presented with a completely peaceful landscape. No one roamed with boat hooks along the river; the horsemen did not gallop back and forth, carrying disappointing news to their parents immersed in grief. Sleepy calm emanated from all that part of Alabama that stretched before me.

“Maybe,” I said to myself in consolation, “they haven't yet discovered that the lamb is missing from the pen. God help the wolves!

Then I went down from the top - it was time for breakfast.

I go up to the cave and see: Bill is leaning against the rock and barely breathing, and the boy is going to cut him with a stone almost the size of a coconut.

“He slipped a hot potato into my collar,” explains Bill, “and crushed it into the bargain, and I kicked his ears. Have you got the gun, Sam?

I took the stone from the leader and somehow pacified both of them.

- But beware! - says the boy to Bill. “Not a single man has torn Prairie Storm's ears without paying for it.

After breakfast, the guy takes a piece of leather wrapped with twine from his pocket and leaves the cave, unwinding the string as he goes.

- What is he up to? Bill asks worriedly. "Do you think he won't run away, Sam?"

“You don’t have to worry about that,” I say. - You can't call him a stay-at-home. But it's time for us to hurry up about the ransom. True, it is not yet clear that the city is particularly alarmed because the boy has disappeared. In any case, he should be missed today. By evening we will send a letter to his father and demand our two thousand.

And then the battle cry rang out. The thing Prairie Storm had pulled out of his pocket turned out to be a sling, and now he whizzed it over his head. I managed to dodge and heard a thud behind me and something similar to the sigh of a horse when the saddle is removed from it at the end of a long stretch. A rock the size of an egg hit Bill in the head just behind his left ear. My friend's legs buckled, and he collapsed headlong into the fire, knocking over a pot of boiling water for washing dishes. I pulled it out of the ashes and cast it for a good half hour cold water.

Little by little, Bill came to his senses, sat down, felt behind his ear where a lump the size of a grapefruit had swelled, and said:

- Sam, do you know who my favorite character in the Bible is? King Herod.

“Don't be nervous,” I say. - You'll be fine soon.

"But you're not leaving, Sam?" He asks timidly. - Will you leave me here alone?

I came out of the cave, caught the leader and shook him so that freckles almost fell off him.

“If you don’t behave properly,” I say, “I’ll send you home in no time.

“I’m just kidding,” the guy says, pouting. “I didn't mean to offend old Hank. And then - why did he hit me? I'll behave myself, Snake-Eye, but don't send me home and let me play rangers today.

“I've never played this game,” I say. “It’s up to you and Mr. Bill to decide. I'm leaving for a while now on business. And you go, make peace with him and ask for forgiveness in a human way.

In general, I made them shake hands, then took Bill aside and said that I was going to the village of Poplar Grove, which is three miles from the cave, to try to find out what rumors from the city about the boy's disappearance. Besides, it’s time to send Dorset Sr. a ransom letter and explain how he should deliver it to us.

- You know, Sam, - says Bill, - I was always ready for you, even in fire, even in water. I won't blink an eye in an earthquake, a fraudulent poker game, a hundred pound dynamite explosion, a police raid, or a hurricane. I was not afraid of anything in the world until we kidnapped this leader of the Iroquois. But he finished me off. Don't leave me with him for long, okay?

“I'll be back by sunset,” I say. - Your job is to entertain the child. Now let's write a scribble for his dad.

Bill and I began composing the letter, while Prairie Storm paced up and down, wrapped in a blanket, guarding the cave entrance. Bill almost tearfully begged me to set a ransom of fifteen hundred dollars instead of two.

“I’m not trying to undermine faith in parental love in this way,” he explained his position. - It would be just immoral. But we are dealing with living people, and what kind of person would find the strength to pay as much as two thousand for this freckled ocelot! Let it be fifteen hundred dollars. The difference, if you like, you can compensate for my account.

I didn't argue, and Bill and I wrote something like this:

Ebenezer Dorset, Esq.

We hid your boy in a safe place far from the city. Not only you, but also the most experienced detectives will waste energy trying to find him. Our final and non-negotiable terms: You can get it back safe and sound for $ 1,500. The money should be left at midnight today in the same place and in the same box as your answer. Where specifically, will be discussed below. If you agree with our terms, please reply with a letter. It must be delivered by one (no more) messengers at half past eight at the location indicated here. Behind the ford across Oul Creek on the road to Poplar Grove, there are three large trees a hundred yards apart, set against a hedge that stretches past a wheat field. Under the post of this fence, opposite the third tree, your messenger will find a small cardboard box.

He must put the answer in this box and return to town immediately. If you try to contact the police or do not follow our requirements exactly, you will never see your son again.

If you pay the specified amount, the child will be returned within three hours. If our terms are not accepted, all further negotiations are excluded.

Two villains

On the envelope I wrote Dorset's address and stuffed the letter into my pocket. When I was about to leave, the guy rolls up to me and says:

“Snake Eye, you said I could play Rangers while you were gone.

- Play what I'm talking about, - I say. “And Mr. Bill will keep you company. And what kind of game is this?

“I am a ranger,” says the Chief of the Redskins, “and I must gallop into the fort to warn the settlers that the Indians are approaching. I'm already tired of being the leader of the Redskins. I want to be a ranger.

“Okay,” I say. - In my opinion, the game is quite harmless. Mr. Bill will help you repel the onslaught of the ferocious Hurons.

- What should I do? - asks Bill and looks at the guy suspiciously.

“You will be my horse,” the ranger says. - How can I ride to the outpost without a horse? So come on, get on all fours.

“Be patient, Bill,” I say, “until our plan works. Warm up a little here.

Bill stands on four, and his eyes look like a rabbit caught in a snare.

- How far is the outpost, lad? He asks hoarsely.

“Ninety miles,” the ranger replies. - And we will have to hurry up to be in time. Well, let's go! ..

The guy jumps up on Bill's back and kicks his heels on his sides!

I went to Poplar Grove, visited the post office and the shop, chatted with the farmers who dropped in to shop. One bearded lump, it turned out, heard that the whole city was in a panic because Ebenezer Dorset had either disappeared or had his son kidnapped. This was all I needed. I bought tobacco, inquired as if by chance, how much soybeans are today, dropped the letter into the box and was like that. The postmaster said that in an hour the postman would drive by and pick up the letters addressed to the city.

When I returned, neither Bill nor our boyfriend were anywhere. I searched the surroundings of the cave, shouted softly a couple of times, but no one responded. I lit a cigarette and sat down under a pine tree, waiting for the development of events.

About half an hour later, a crackling and rustling was heard in the bushes, and Bill rolled out into the clearing under the rock. A ranger stepped silently behind him, grinning at the full width of his freckled face. Bill stopped, kicked off his hat and wiped his wet face with a handkerchief. The boy froze about ten feet behind.

“Sam,” Bill said, barely turning his tongue, “you can consider me a traitor, but I no longer had the strength to endure. I am an adult, I can stand up for myself, but there are times when everything goes to dust - both courage and self-control. Our guy left. I sent him home. It's all over, thank God. There were martyrs in the old days who were more likely to accept death than to part with their favorite idea. I am not one of them, but perhaps not one of them was subjected to such supernatural torture as I have. I wanted to stay true to our cause, but my strength is over.

- What happened here, Bill? I ask.

“I galloped all ninety miles to the fort, not an inch less,” Bill says. - Then, when the settlers were warned, they poured oats on me. Sand is a lousy substitute for oats. And then I had to explain for an hour and a half why the holes are empty, why the road leads in both directions, and why the grass is green. I tell you again, Sam, there is a limit to human patience. I grab the brat by the gate and drag him down the mountain. On the way, he kicks me, all my legs are now bruised, there are a couple of bites on my arm, and my thumb is bleeding. But he is no longer there, continues Bill, went home. I showed him the way to town. To hell with him, with the ransom, because the question was: either we will get it over with, or I have a direct road to the madhouse.

Bill puffs and puffs, but his rounded, ruddy face expresses complete bliss.

- Bill, - I say, - in your family no one had a heart disease?

“No,” he replies, “nothing like that, except malaria and accidents. And why are you?

“Well, then, turn around,” I say, “and see what's behind you.

Bill turns around, sees our guy and turns pale as skim milk. Then he flops to the ground under the rock and starts to tear the grass stupidly. For an hour I was not sure if his sanity would return to him. When he nevertheless began to come to his senses, I told him that as for me, it was necessary to end this business quickly and that we would have time to get the money and leave before midnight, if old Dorset agreed to our terms. Bill perked up a little and smiled hard at the boy.

The plan I devised to get the ransom without the slightest risk was as simple as anything ingenious. I think even a professional kidnapper would approve of him. The tree, under which the answer was to be placed first, and then the money, stood by the very road; along the road stretched a fence, and on either side of it - spacious, bare fields at this time. If a gang of policemen were in wait for the one who came for the letter to the tree indicated in the letter, they would have seen him from afar either on the road or in the field. But that was not the case: at half past eight I was already sitting on this very tree, hiding among the foliage, like a hefty tree frog. Exactly at the appointed hour, a teenage boy rides up on a bicycle, finds a cardboard box under a fence post, shoves a piece of paper folded in four into it, and rolls it back into town.

I waited another hour or so to make sure there was no trap. Then he climbed down from the tree, took out the note from the box, crept into the shade of the hedge all the way to the forest, and half an hour later was in our cave. There I unfolded the note, sat closer to the fire and read it to Bill:

To two villains

Gentlemen, your letter arrived in the mail today regarding the ransom you are demanding to return my son to me. I believe that you have requested too much, and therefore I am making you a counter offer. I think you will accept it without much hesitation. You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, and I agree to take it from you. It is advisable to do this at night, otherwise the neighbors think that the guy is missing, and I am not responsible for what they do to the person who brings Johnny home.

Respectfully yours - Ebenezer Dorset

- Forces of heaven! I say. - Such impudence ...

But then I looked at Bill and fell silent. His eyes shone with such a supplication that I had never seen before or after, either in animals or in humans.

“Sam,” he finally spoke up, “what is, in essence, two hundred and fifty dollars? We have the money. One more night with this Redskin chief, and I will have to be placed in the maddened ward. Not only is Mr. Dorset a true gentleman, he is also an outstanding benefactor, once he makes us such a disinterested offer. Sam, you won't miss this chance, will you?

- To tell you the truth, Bill, - I say, - the guy's something and I began to get on my nerves. Let's take him to papa, pay the ransom and only we were seen here.

We brought the boy home that same night. We told him that his father bought him a winchester with a silver notch and brand new moccasins, and tomorrow morning we were going to hunt a bear with the whole company.

At midnight sharp, we knocked on the front door of Ebenezer Dorset's house. And at the very minute when, in theory, I had to extract fifteen hundred dollars from a cardboard box under the fence, Bill was counting out two hundred and fifty full-weight dollars into Mr. Dorset's outstretched palm.

As soon as the guy realized that we were going to leave him at home, he howled like a steamer siren and dug into Bill's leg like a leech.

Father had to rip it off like a sticky plaster.

- How long can you keep it like that? Bill asked cautiously.

Keywords: O. Henry, O. Henry, the Leader of the Redskins, the work of O. Henry, the works of O. Henry, download free, download the novels by O. Henry, read the text, American literature of the 19th century, early 20th century

« The leader of the Redskins"(Eng. The Ransom of Red Chief) - a short story by the American writer O. Henry, included in the collection "Rotation" (eng. Whirligigs), published in 1910 by Doubleday, Page & Company.

"Leader of the Redskins" plot

The story takes place in one of the towns in the US state of Alabama. Two crooks, Sam and Bill Driscoll, are in dire need of money. In order to get them, they kidnap a teenager - the son of an influential provincial town dweller Ebenezer Dorset, hide the boy in a cave in the forest, and intend to send a letter to his father demanding a ransom of $ 2,000. However, the boy, who calls himself the Leader of the Redskins, takes it all for a game and believes that he is on an exciting campaign - he does not at all seek to return home. Moreover, he involves Bill and Sam in his game of Indians - so much so that he simply imposes his rules on them. The comic nature of the situation is further enhanced by the fact that the villains are completely helpless in front of childish spontaneity. Brought almost to despair, Bill no longer knows how to get rid of this Leader and simply drives the boy home.

However, the boy does not think to leave and returns to Sam with Bill. Then they decide to lower the ransom amount to $ 1,500 and hastily send a threatening letter, confident that the boy's parents will pay them money and the boy will be taken away. But the impossible happens: Mr. Dorset not only refuses to pay the ransom, but offers the "two villains" themselves to pay him $ 250 to take Johnny back. To top it off, it turns out that it is necessary to transfer the child only at night, so that the neighbors do not interfere with this. Sam and Bill agree.