Two adventurers, narrator Sam and Bill Driscoll, have already earned something, and now they need a little more to set about speculating on land. They decide to kidnap the son of Colonel Ebenezer Dorsett, one of the most prosperous residents of a small town in Alabama. The heroes have no doubt that dad will calmly pay two thousand dollars for his beloved child. Having seized the moment, friends attack the boy and, although he “fought like a medium-sized brown bear”, they take him away on a cart to the mountains, where they hide in a cave. However, the boy is enthusiastic about his new position and does not want to go home at all. He declares himself the leader of the Redskins, Bill - the old hunter Hank, a captive of the formidable Indian, and Sam gets the nickname Snake Eye. The child promises to remove the scalp from Bill, and, as it turns out later, his words do not diverge from the deed. At dawn, Sam wakes up from wild cries. He sees that a boy is sitting on top of Bill and is trying to remove the scalp from him with the knife with which they cut the brisket. Bill has his first doubts that anyone in their right mind would want to pay money for the return of such a treasure. However, having gone on reconnaissance, Sam really does not notice signs of concern in the Dorsett house.

Meanwhile, the situation in the camp is heating up, and seasoned crooks are helpless in front of the antics of their captive, who perfectly entered the role of leader of the redskins. At the insistence of Bill, on whose shoulders lies the bulk of the burden of protecting the captive, the ransom is reduced to one and a half thousand. Then Sam leaves with a letter to the nearest mailbox, and Bill remains to guard the child.

Upon returning, Sam learns that Bill could not stand the test and sent the boy home. “I rode all ninety miles to the outpost, not an inch less. And then, when the settlers were saved, they gave me oats. Sand is an unimportant substitute for oats. And then I had to explain for an hour, why the holes are empty, why the road goes both ways and why the grass is green. ” Bill pleads guilty to the partner, but assures that if the child remained, he, Bill, would have to be sent to a madhouse. But Bill's happiness is short-lived. Sam asks him to turn around, and behind his back his friend discovers a leader of the redskins. However, the case is nearing a denouement. Colonel Dorsett believes the kidnappers requested an extra. For his part, he makes a counter offer. For two hundred and fifty dollars, he is ready to take his son back. He only asks to bring the child under cover of darkness, as the neighbors hope that he is gone, and the father does not vouch for what they can do with those who bring him back. Sam is outraged, but Bill begs him to accept Colonel Dorsett’s generous offer (“he’s not only a gentleman, he’s also a waste”).

Exactly at midnight, Sam and Bill surrender to the father by deceiving the boy brought home. Realizing that he was being fooled, he grabs a dead grip on Bill's leg, and his father rips him off, "like a sticky adhesive." When asked how long the colonel can hold a child, Dorsett says that he has not the same strength, but in ten minutes he warrants. “At ten minutes,” Bill says, “I will cross the Central, Southern and Midwestern States and have time to reach the Canadian border.”