Bill and I had teamed together4 a long time, living more or less by our wits. He and I together had saved up about six hundred dollars. We had thought up a plan to make money in real estate5 but needed another two thousand dollars. The easiest way to get the money, we thought, was to try kidnapping. We knew there were many risks, but we decided to go ahead anyway, not thinking of the penalty6 we might have to pay.
We selected Summit, Alabama, as the place to try our luck. Our victim was Johnny Dorset, the son of the town banker. Johnny was ten, red-haired and full of life. But how did we know he was the town's Little Devil7!
Well, our plan was this: About two miles from town there was a little mountain covered with cedar8 trees. Near the top of the mountain was a cave. There we stored our provisions and waited for our opportunity.
One evening after sundown, we drove in a buggy9 past the Dorset house. The kid was in the street, throwing rocks at a kitten on a fence.
“Hey, little boy!” Bill called. “Would you like to have a bag of candy and a nice ride?”
A piece of brick caught Bill above his right eye.
“That will cost the old man an extra five hundred,” Bill said, climbing down.
The boy struggled slightly but at last we got him into the buggy, and we drove away to the cave. After dark I took the buggy back to the stable10, where I had rented it.
When I got back, Bill had nursed his wounds, including the ones on his shins11, where the kid had kicked him.
“He's all right now,” Bill said. “We're playing Indian. We're making Buffalo Bill's12 show look like a kid circus. I'm Old Hank, the Trapper13. He's Red Chief. He's going to scalp14 me or burn me at the stake15. He hasn't made up his mind yet. I'm afraid he is going to do both.”
Yes, sir, the boy was having the time of his life playing Indian. He immediately christened16 me Snake Eye, and promised to burn me at the stake as soon as his braves returned from the warpath17.
Then we had supper. The kid filled his mouth with bacon18, bread, and gray, and began to talk.
“I like playing Indian just fine,” he said. “I never camped out before. I'm never going home. No—never, never. I hate school. I want some more bacon. I have five puppies19 at home. My father has lots of money. Do the trees make the wind blow? Are the stars hot? I don't like girls. Why are oranges round? Amos Murray has six toes. Why do my freckles stay on after I wash my face?”
Every few minutes he picked up his stick rifle, let out a war whoop20, and started looking around the cave for palefaces21. That boy had Bill scared to death from the start.
“Red Chief,” I said to the kid, “Would you like to go home?”
“Aw, what for?” he said. “I don't have any fun at home. I like to camp out. You won't take me home again, Snake Eye, will you?”
“Not right away,” I said. “We'll stay here in the cave awhile.”
“Aw right,” he said. “ That'll be fine. I never had such fun in all my life.”
That night we spread out blankets on the ground. Red Chief slept between us. We weren't afraid he'd run away, but we thought it safer for us in case he played a prank22.
Just at daybreak I was awakened by screams from Bill. I jumped up to see what was the matter. Red Chief was sitting on Bill's chest, and had a handful of Bill's hair. In the other hand he had our kitchen knife and was trying to take Bill's scalp.
I got the knife from Red Chief and made him lie down again. Poor Bill—his spirit was broken. He never slept any more as long as the kid was with us. I lit my pipe and leaned against a rock. I just remembered that Red Chief had said I was to be burned at the stake at sunrise.
“Why are you getting up so soon?” Bill asked.
“Me?” I said. “Oh, I got a pain in my shoulder. I can't sleep any more.”
“Liar!” Bill said. “You're afraid. The kid said he was going to burn you at the stake at sunrise. He'll do it too if he can find a match. Do you think anybody will pay money to get that little imp23 back?”
“Sure,” I said. “A naughty boy like that gets everything that he wants from his parents. Now you and Red Chief cook some breakfast. I'll go into town and see what is happening. We'd better arrange the ransom right away.”
“Ransom?” Bill howled24. “Take him with you. Turn him loose! Get rid of him. We'd better hide from him.”
The town was perfectly quiet. There was no sign of alarm. No peace officers ran around looking for a lost kid. There were no people dredging25 the river or looking through the swamps for a lost boy. As a matter of fact, the town was at peace.
When I got back to the cave, I found Bill almost in tears.
“He put a red-hot boiled potato down my back,” he explained.
After breakfast the kid took a slingshot26 out of his pocket. He picked up a stone and fired. I dodged27, but poor Bill got it in the back of his neck.
I caught the boy and shook him.
“If you don't stop being bad,” I said. “I'll take you home. Now are you going to be good?”
“I was only funning,” the kid said. “If you promise not to take me home, I'll be nice to Old Hank.”
“We'll have to write a ransom note,” I said to Bill. “You entertain him while I deliver the note.”
“His folks will never pay two thousand dollars for him,” Bill said. “Nobody would pay that much money for such a troublesome boy. We should lower the ransom to fifteen hundred.”
So, to relieve Bill, we worded a letter to Mr. Dorset:
To: Mr. Ebenezer Dorset
Sir, we have your boy. We demand fifteen hundred dollars in small bills for his return.
The money is to be brought by a lone messenger at midnight. After crossing the Rock Creek bridge, he will see three poplar28 trees. Opposite the third tree is a fence post. At the base of the post will be a cardboard box. He must leave the money in the box.
If you pay the money as demanded, the boy will be released safely within three hours.
Two Desperate29 Men
I told Bill to entertain the kid while I walked over to the post office at Poplar Grove to mail the ransom note. Bill didn't like the idea one bit. “Take my advice,” he said. “Let's just get out of here. That kid will scalp us both.”
Well, when I got back to camp, Bill and Red Chief were gone. I called once or twice, and I sat down to wait. Poor Bill! Maybe he had been scalped!
After waiting a while, I heard a rustling30 in the bushes. There was poor Bill, looking tired and sad.
“What's the trouble, Bill?” I asked.
“I was rode,” Bill said. “I was his horse for about ninety miles while he attacked the settlers31. But I finally managed to get him off my back. I told him to go home. I just can't take anymore!”
Eight feet behind Bill stood Red Chief, grinning32 from ear to ear. He had never had so much fun.
When Bill turned around and saw the kid, I thought he'd have a heart attack. He just turned pale and sat down and began to scratch33 in the dirt and pick up little sticks. For over an hour I thought Bill had gone out of his mind34.
Poor Bill! I told him we would get the affair over by midnight and be safely on our way.
Long before midnight I went to the place where the messenger was to leave the money. I had no intentions of being caught by the sheriff35, so I climbed into a tree and waited.
Exactly on time, a boy came up the road on a bicycle, located the cardboard box at the foot of the fence post, slipped a piece of paper in it, and then rode away.
I waited an hour before I slipped down from the tree. I got the note and went back to the cave. Bill and I read the note by lantern light. It said:
Two Desperate Men:
Gentlemen, I received your letter today. In regard to the ransom, you ask for too much, I am making you a better offer, which I think you will accept. You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars, and I agree to take him off your hands. You had better come at night, for the neighbors believe he is lost for good36, and I couldn't be responsible for what they may do to you if they saw you bringing him back.
Very respectfully,
Ebenezer Dorset
“I don't believe this!” I thought to myself.
But I glanced at Bill, and hesitated. He had the saddest look in his eyes that I ever saw on the face of a sick man.
Bill said, “What's two hundred and fifty dollars, after all? We've got the money. I think Mr. Dorset's offer is more than fair.”
“Tell you the truth, Bill,” I said, “We've had enough trouble. We'll take him home, pay the ransom, and escape.”
We took Red Chief home that night. He put up a struggle and didn't want to go because he had already planned an attack on another paleface fort. But we told him his father was going to get him a rifle, and we would hunt bears the next day.
It was just at midnight when we went to the Dorset home. Bill counted out two hundred and fifty dollars into Dorset's hand.
When Red Chief found out we were going to leave him, he yelled37 and fastened himself tight to Bill's leg. His father managed to pry38 him loose.
“How long can you hold him?” Bill asked.
“I am not so strong as I used to be,” Dorset said, “But I think I can hold him ten minutes.”
“Enough!” Bill said. “In ten minutes I'll be out of the state.”
And dark as it was39, and as good a runner as I am, Bill was a good mile out of town before I could catch up with him.
1. ransom n. 赎金
2. red chief 红酋长，指红种印第安人的酋长。文中“红酋长”（Johhny游戏时扮演的角色）代指Johnny。
3. O. Henry 欧·亨利(1862-1910),美国著名短篇小说家。
4. team together 在一起合作
5. real estate 不动产，房地产
6. penalty n. 处罚
7. but how did we know he was the town's Little Devil: 但我们哪知道他竟是镇里的小魔王！
8. cedar n. 雪松
9. buggy n. 四轮单马轻便马车
10. stable n. 马厩
11. shin n. 胫骨
12. Buffalo Bill “野牛比尔”是美国著名马戏团主持人威廉·福·柯迪的别名。他的演出中多为印第安人、牛仔、骑士、射手等西部荒原中的人物。
13. Old Hank, the Trapper: 捕兽人老汉克（剧中人名）
14. scalp v. 剥下…的头皮
15. stake n. 火刑柱
16. christen v. 给…取名
17. warpath n. 征途
18. bacon n. 熏咸肉，腊肉
19. puppy n. 小狗，幼犬
20. war whoop 挑衅的叫声
21. paleface n. （印第安人称呼的）欧洲白种人
22. prank n. 胡闹，恶作剧
23. imp n. 顽童，小淘气
24. howl v. 嚎哭，哀号
25. dredge v. （在河水中）打捞
26. slingshot n. 弹弓
27. dodge v. 闪开，躲开
28. poplar n. 杨树
29. desperate adj. 绝望的，胆大妄为的
30. rustling n. 瑟瑟声，沙沙声
31. settler n. 移居者，开拓者
32. grin v. 咧嘴而笑，露齿而笑
33. scratch v. 抓，扒寻
34. go out of one's mind 发狂，精神不正常
35. sheriff n. 县治安官
36. for good 永久
37. yell v. 叫喊，号叫
38. pry v. 使劲分开
39. and dark as it was: = and though it was dark . as 引出的让步状语从句，常倒装结构。意思是：尽管天黑了。