"The Ransom of Red Chief" is a comic short story in which two small-time swindlers, Sam and Bill, kidnap a ten-year-old boy from a sleepy Alabama town to fund their next con. Their scheme unravels almost instantly — the boy, who gleefully rechristens himself Red Chief, terrorizes his captors with slingshots, attempted scalpings, and relentless demands for play. As Bill's nerves buckle under ninety imaginary miles on all fours, Sam scrambles to collect a ransom from a father who has a very different transaction in mind.

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