If you ask the average Russian about what works of William Sidney Portrer he read, then in 90% of cases you will receive only a puzzled look and an indefinite shrug. Yes, this writer is not popular with our readers. But if you ask about what the novelist O`Henry wrote, then these same 90% will happily recall the story “The Leader of the Redskins”. Everyone can tell a summary of this short story, even if he was not fortunate enough to hold the book in its hands. But he probably watched a wonderful Soviet film adaptation with George Vitsin and Alexei Smirnov in the lead roles.
For those who have not yet read this wonderful novel and have not watched Gaidai’s film “Business People”, we will try to tell you exactly what the story “The Leader of the Redskins” is about. The summary is unlikely to be particularly brief, but ... "Mukhtar will try." So let's get started.
O`Henry. "The Leader of the Redskins": a summary of the short story
Naive American childless bachelors - Sam and Bill - decided not to distribute Herbalife, but to kidnap. They decided that if the only son of a local rich man was kidnapped, then the offspring would roll away at least a couple of thousand dollars for them to return to their native land. So begins the short story "The Leader of the Redskins." A summary of it follows.
No sooner said than done, the boys are lured with a promise to show something very interesting and, despite the resistance, they are taking away far to the mountains. After waiting some time, one of the bandits goes on reconnaissance, he is very interested in what they say about this crime of the century in the town, and a letter to the inconsolable father with the terms of the ransom of the heir must be sent.
A joyful mood reigns in the town. The unknown idiots-kidnappers the whole population is literally ready to pray. The boy managed to annoy all the inhabitants, without exception. It would seem that a reasonable person should think that it is unlikely that at least 2 cents will be paid to return such a “treasure”, not to mention two thousand dollars. But our hero decides that the more unbearable the child, the stronger his parental love. He sends dad a letter with the terms of the ransom and returns to his partner in the most rosy mood.
But Bill's affairs, meanwhile, are not going so joyfully. The kidnapped tomboy decided to break away in full and proclaimed himself a real Indian, and the head of the tribe. Yes, you completely recalled the name - “The Leader of the Redskins”. The summary is still not the story itself, and it is not able to convey all the bullying that Johnny (such a name was given to the boy by loving parents) subjected the unfortunate bandits. After only three days in the company with a restless tomboy, they were ready to drop everything and run anywhere. But ... no one was able to escape from Johnny just like that.
So our summary of the story “The Leader of the Redskins” came to an end. The end of the novel is natural. Our heroes also had to pay dad to keep his son on a leash for at least half an hour, and during that time they would have time to rush to the Canadian border.