THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF

THE RANSOM OF RED CHIEF[1]

I am going to tell you a story about how we tried to kidnap a child.

Bill and I were in a small town in the state of Alabama when the idea of kidnapping came to us. We needed money. Kidnapping seemed to us the best way to get a lot of money. It did not take us long to select a child for kidnapping. We selected the only child of a rich man named Ebenezer Dorset.

The kid was a boy of ten, with a face full of freckles. His hair was red, in fact it was bright red. We hoped that Ebenezer would be glad to give us a ransom of two thousand dollars for his son. But wait till I tell you the story.

About two miles from the town there was a little mountain covered with a thick wood. There was a cave in the mountain. We kept our food and things in the cave.

One evening we drove in a buggy past Ebenezer`s house. The kid was in the street. He was throwing stones at a cat.

“Hey, little boy,” said Bill, “would you like to have a bag of candy and a nice ride?”[2]

The boy threw a stone at Bill and hit him straight in the eye.

“Old Ebenezer will have to pay an extra five hundred dollars[3] for this,” said Bill, getting out of the buggy.

It took Bill some time to catch the boy and drag him into the buggy. The boy fought like a bear. At last we drove away.

We took him up to the cave. When it became dark I drove to the little village, three miles away, where we had hired the buggy and left it there. Then I walked back to the cave in the mountain.

When I came up Bill was sitting near the fire at the entrance of the cave. He was putting plaster on the scratches on his face and arms. The boy was watching the fire. He had two bird feathers in his red hair. When I came up he raised the stick he was holding and cried:

“Ha! you wicked pale-face![4] Do you dare to enter the camp of Red Chief, the terror of the land[5]?”

“He`s all right now,”[6] – said Bill, who was examining the scratches on his legs. “We are playing Indian[7]. He is Red Chief and I am prisoner. To-morrow at sunrise he is going to scalp me. By God[8] that kid can kick hard!”[9]

The boy was having a good time. He liked our cave very much. And he liked to play Indian and to be Red Chief. He forgot that he was a prisoner himself. He gave me the name of Snake-eye, the Spy[10]. He told me that he was going to burn me in the fire at sunrise.

Then we had supper. The boy`s mouth was full of bacon and bread but he began to talk. He made a long dinner speech.[11] It was something like this:

“I like this very much. I never camped before. I hate to go to school. Are there any real Indians in the woods? I want some more bacon. We have two dogs. Are the stars hot? I don`t likes girls. My father has a lot of money. A parrot can talk but a fish can`t. have you beds to sleep on in this cave? What makes your nose so red, Snake-eye?”

Every few minutes he remembered that he was Red Chief, so he got up and run to the entrance of the cave to see if there were any pale-face hiding there. Now and then[12] he gave a loud war-cry and Bill shivered. That boy terrorized Bill from the very beginning.

“Red Chief,” I asked to the boy, “ do you want to go home?”

“What for?” he asked. “ I have no fun at home.[13] I have to go to school. I like camping here. Are you going to take me home, Snake-eye?”

“Not right away,”[14] I said. “We`ll stay here in the cave for some time.”

“All right,” he said, “that will be fine. I never had such fun in all my life.”

We went to bed at about eleven o`clock. We put Red Chief between us. We were not afraid he would run away. But for three hours we could not fall asleep. Every now and then Red Chief jumped up and shouted in Bill`s ear or mine:

“Somebody is coming. Who is there?”

At last I fell asleep. I dreamed that I had been kidnapped and tied to a tree by a pirate with red hair.

Early in the morning I was awakened by terrible screams. They came from Bill. I jumped up to see what had happened. Red Chief was sitting on Bill`s chest. With one hand ha has holding Bill`s hair. In the other he had the knife which we used for cutting bacon. He was trying to take Bill`s scalp,[15] according to his promise the evening before.[16]

I took the knife away from the fid and told him to go back to sleep. He did so. But from that moment on Bill knew no peace. He did not close his eyes in sleep as long as that boy was with us.[17] I could not sleep myself. I remembered that Red Chief had promised to burn me in the fire at sunrise. I wasn`t nervous or afraid but I could not sleep. So I sat up and smoked my pipe.

“Why are you getting up so early, Sam?” asked Bill.

“Oh, I want a smoke,” said I, “that`s all!”

“You lie,” said Bill. “You are afraid! He said he would burn you at sunrise. And you are afraid he will do it. And he will[18] if he finds a match. What shall we do, Sam? Do you think anybody will pay money to have this little devil back home?”

“Of course,” I said, “parents love their kids even if they are little devils. Now, Bill, you and the Chief get up cook some breakfast. I`ll go up to the top of the mountain to look around.”

From the top of the mountain I looked down at the town. I saw the streets very clearly. They were very quiet. I did not see any parents running around, looking for their son.[19] And I did not see any policemen arresting anybody for kidnapping a kid. Everything was quiet. Maybe, I said to myself, they have not yet discovered that the boy has been kidnapped.

When I returned to the cave I saw a frightened Bill standing with his back to the wall. The boy was going to hit him with a large stone.

“He put a hot potato down my back,”[20] explained Bill. “Then he pressed the potato to my back with his foot. So I had to box his ears.”[21]

I took the stone away from the boy and told him and Bill to make peace.

“You`ll be sorry for that,” said the boy to Bill. “Nobody has ever hit the Red Chief,. Those who tried, had pay for it…”

After breakfast the boy took something out of his pocket. It was a sling. Then he went out of the cave.

“What is he up to now?”[22] said Bill nervously. “Is he going to run away, Sam?”

“No fear of that[23],” I said. “He doesn`t look like a boy who likes to stay at home. Quite the contrary.[24] And he is having a good time here. But now we must make our plans to get ransom for him. I don`t think his father has noticed his disappearance yet. Maybe he thinks the boy is sleeping at his aunt`s house. She lives a little way from him. But to-day they will discover that he has disappeared. We must send a letter to his father to-night, demanding the two thousand dollars for the boy`s return.”

At the moment we heard a kind of war-cry.[25] It came from Red Chief who was sending a shot from his sling.

A stone as big as an egg hit Bill behind his left ear. He fell across the fire which we had to cook our breakfast. I dragged him out of the fire and threw cold water on his head for half an hour. At last Bill opened his eyes.

“Take it easy[26], Bill,” I said. “You will be allright soon.”

“Please, Sam, please,” said Bill, “do not leave me here alone!”

I went out and caught the boy. I shook him until his freckles rattled.[27]

“If you don`t stop doing such things,” I said, “I`ll take you home at once. Now, are you going to be good, or not?”

“I`ll be good, Snake-eye. Don`t send me home. May I play the Black Scout to-day?”[28]

“What kind of game is it?”[29] I asked. “I don`t know it. Now I am going away on business for some time. You play with Mr. Bill to-day. Come in and make peace with him. Say you are sorry that you have hit him. Do what I tell you, or you will go home at once!”

Red Chief and Bill shook hands and made peace. I took Bill aside and told him I was going to send a letter to the boy`s father from the nearest post office. In the letter we shall demand the ransom of two thousand dollars and tell him how to pay the money.

“You know, Sam,” said Bill, “that I have always stood by you.[30] I have helped you in everything you did. I have never been afraid of the police or anything till we kidnapped this two-legged sky-rocket. The more I stay with him the more nervous I become. Please, don`t leave me with him for a long time!”

“I`ll back in the afternoon,” I said. Play with the kid and be kind to him. And now let`s write the letter.”

We took paper and pencil and began to write the letter. Bill asked me to make the ransom fifteen hundred dollars instead of two thousand. He was afraid old Dorset would not pay two thousand dollars for the “freckled wild cat”. That is what he called the boy.[31]

“You will get a thousand and I will take only a five hundred,” he said.

This is what I wrote:

“Ebenezer Dorset.

We are hiding your boy in a place which is very far from your town. Don`t look for him. It is useless. Neither you nor the police can find him. So, don`t try! You can have him back only on these terms; We demand fifteen hundred dollars for his return. If you agree – write a note and send it with your messenger to-night at half-past eight. A little way from the wood there are three large trees on a road. There is a fence opposite these trees. And at the foot of the fence-post opposite the third tree your messenger will find a small paper box.

He must put the letter with your answer in that box and go back at once. At midnight you must put the money into the same paper box.

If you do not do as we ask you to do – you will never see your boy again. If you pay the money – it will take us only three hours to bring him back.

Two Desperate Men.”[32]

It will continue...

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[1] The Ransom of Red Chief – Выкуп за Вождя Краснокожих

[2] would you like to have a bag of candy and a nice ride? – хочешь получить пакетик конфет и немного прокатиться?

[3] Old Ebenezer will have to pay an extra five hundred dollars – старику Эбенезеру придется заплатить лишние 500 долларов

[4] Ha! you wicked pale-face! – ах ты, проклятый бледнолицый!

[5] the terror of the land – гроза этих мест

[6] He`s all right now – сейчас он ещё ничего

[7] We are playing Indian – мы с ним играем в индейцев

[8] by God – ей Богу

[9] that kid can kick hard! – ну и здорово же лягается этот мальчишка!

[10] Snake-eye, the Spy – Шпион-Змеиный глаз

[11] He made a long dinner speech. – он произнес за обедом длинную речь

[12] now and then – время от времени

[13] I have no fun at home – дома мне скучно

[14] Not right away – не сейчас, не сразу (ам.)

[15] to take Bill`s scalp – снять с Била скальп

[16] according to his promise the evening before – согласно своему обещанию накануне вечером

[17] as long as that boy was with us – все время, пока мальчишка был с нами

[18] and he will (= and he will do it) – и он сделает это

[19] I did not see any parents running around, looking for their son. – я не видел, чтобы какие-нибудь родители метались в поисках своего сына.

[20] He put a hot potato down my back – он положил мне за шиворот горячую картофелину

[21] to box his ears – надавать ему пощечин (a box in the ear – пощечина)

[22] What is he up to now? – Что это он сейчас замышляет?

[23] No fear of that – этого нечего бояться

[24] Quite the contrary – совсем наоборот

[25] a kind of war-cry – что-то вроде военного клича

[26] Take it easy – успокойся, не принимай это близко к сердцу

[27] I shook him until his freckles rattled – Я тряс его до тех пор, пока его веснушки ни застучали друг о друга.

[28] May I play the Black Scout to-day – Можно мне сегодня поиграть в разведчика?

[29] What kind of game is it? – Что это за игра?

[30] I have always stood by you – я всегда тебя поддерживал (to stand by – помогать, поддерживать)

[31] That is what he called the boy – так он окрестил (назвал) мальчишку

[32] Two Desperate Men – двое отчаянных