In "The Ransom of Red Chief," what's the irony in the name of Red Chief's town?
The name of the town where Sam and Bill kidnap the boy who calls himself Red Chief is Summit. This name is ironic because, as Sam explains:
There was a town down there, as flat as a flannel-cake, and called Summit, of course.
The irony is that the name suggests a town on top of a mountain. Either the people who named the town didn't know what the word actually meant, or else they wanted a name that would suggest a town that stood out above all the others in the region.
O. Henry wanted to set his story in an area that was perfectly flat. This would make it easier for Sam to collect the ransom--provided that Ebenezer Dorset agreed to pay it. Sam could see the landscape for miles around the tree he had designated as the drop-off place. To make his task even safer he did not...
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plan to approach the tree after the drop-off.
I had a scheme for collecting that ransom without danger of being caught by counterplots that ought to commend itself to professional kidnappers. The tree under which the answer was to be left--and the money later on--was close to the road fence with big, bare fields on all sides. If a gang of constables should be watching for any one to come for the note they could see him a long way off crossing the fields or in the road. But no, sirree! At half-past eight I was up in that tree as well hidden as a tree toad, waiting for the messenger to arrive.
Sam had a perfect vantage spot from up in the tree. If he saw that Ebenezer Dorset complied with the first demand, which was to drop off a letter accepting the kidnapper's terms, then Sam would assume that Dorset would comply with the second demand, which was to leave $1500 in cash at the foot of the tree by midnight. Sam undoubtedly planned to be up in the tree some time before midnight. But the father's letters squelched the whole scheme. Instead of agreeing to pay for the return of the boy, the father politely offered to accept him back if they would pay him $250.
What is the town's name in "The Ransom of Red Chief"?
Sam tells us that the name of the town they chose for their kidnapping venture was Summit. O. Henry had a reason for choosing that name. He wanted to be able to describe the topography. Sam explains that it is stupid to call such a town Summit because the whole region is completely flat. As Sam says:
There was a town down there, as flat as a flannel-cake, and called Summit, of course.
The fact that the area is flat fits in with the half-baked kidnapping plan. Sam sends a letter to the "victim's" father telling him he must leave the $1500 in ransom money under a certain tree. If Ebenezer Dorset and the local law-enforcement officials decided to entrap the kidnapper when he went to pick up the money, they would have to hide at some distance and keep a lookout on that tree. As Sam explains:
The tree under which the answer was to be left—and the money later on—was close to the road fence with big, bare fields on all sides. If a gang of constables should be watching for any one to come for the note they could see him a long way off crossing the fields or in the road. But no, sirree! At half-past eight I was up in that tree as well hidden as a tree toad, waiting for the messenger to arrive.
Sam is already up in the designated tree long before the boy delivers Ebenezer's message. From that vantage point Sam can survey the entire landscape and see if there is any stakeout. If so, he can wait until it is totally dark and make his getaway in a direction away from the lurking lawmen. Sam has to be sure there is no entrapment scheme, because he has given Ebenezer Dorset until midnight to gather the cash and leave the package at the same tree. That means Sam will have to come back again, assuming Dorset agrees to pay the money. By that time Sam should know whether it is safe to come back or whether Ebenezer Dorset was double-crossing them.