“The Ransom of Red Chief” is a short story about two guys who are planning a scheme to kidnap a kid from a rich family, and hold a ransom of two thousand dollars on the kid. They find and kidnap a kid named Johnny. They pick up the boy and take him to a cave hideout, but then things go wrong. Calling himself “Red Chief” in a fantasy game of cowboys and Indians, the boy drives both men crazy—but particularly Bill. The boy demands they entertain him, refusing to return to his home even when they release him from his captivity out of desperation to be rid of him. Even so, the outlaws still write a ransom letter to the boy’s father, lowering the requested ransom from two thousand dollars to fifteen hundred. Unfortunately, old man Dorset, who knows that his boy is a terror, rejects their demand and instead offers to take the boy off their hands if they pay him $250. Feeling disheveled, Bill and Sam hand over the cash and trick the unhappy boy into returning to his wealthy father. The elder Dorset restrains his son long enough for the chastened duo to flee town.
The theme is that crime won’t be able to pay. The lesson is probably that it is pretty hard to make money, and breaking the law will end you up in jail. It is known that you shouldn’t do crime, even if you really need money, but to work hard and earn it. The story was a pretty interesting one.