The Ransom of Red Chief
Complete textTwo men in Alabama devise a kidnapping scheme they expect to produce easy money. The boy they abduct, calling himself Red Chief, approaches captivity as an opportunity for vigorous play. Keeping him occupied soon becomes a more immediate challenge than carrying out the plan they confidently imagined.
Continue readingAbout The Ransom of Red Chief
The kidnappers narrate their own miscalculation in language that repeatedly tries to preserve professional confidence. Adventure games turn the intended victim into an exhausting director of events. Follow the changing balance of power, especially the difference between assigning someone a role in a profitable scheme and discovering that he does not share the assumptions necessary for it to work.
Reading focus
Enjoy the reversal of control as a supposedly manageable victim turns the kidnappers’ business plan into an exhausting adventure game.
This reading edition contains 4,161 words in 1 original section. Read the text online with adjustable type and three colour themes, or keep a printable PDF.
Author: O Henry. Language: English. Reading edition: 28 October 2026.
Opening excerpt
It looked like a good thing: but wait till I tell you. We were down South, in Alabama—Bill Driscoll and myself—when this kidnapping idea struck us. It was, as Bill afterward expressed it, “during a moment of temporary mental apparition”; but we didn’t find that out till later.
Contents
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Is this the complete The Ransom of Red Chief?
This edition contains the complete English literary text, with 1 section and 4,161 words. This reading edition preserves the checked English text and its section order. No study notes have been added.
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