In addition to the obvious fact that the young kidnap victim turned out to be a hellcat, there were two main things the kidnappers Bill and Sam did not anticipate. Both of their mistakes might be attributed to the fact that these men are "out of the loop," so to speak, when it comes to domestic matters. They are both obviously bachelors. Their profession as confidence men keeps them perpetually on the lam. They are outsiders. They only know men as potential suckers for their scams, nothing about kids or family life.
One of the two things Bill and Sam did not anticipate was that their "victim" would enjoy being kidnapped. He has never had so much fun in his life. He is wild enough at home, but being kidnapped and living outdoors brings out previously hidden depths of wildness. He calls himself Red Chief, and he behaves like his idea of a wild savage. Bill and Sam have a tiger by the tail. They can't frighten him because he frightens them. They have no moral authority as adults because the boy knows they are outlaws.
The other thing the kidnappers do not anticipate is that the boy's father, Ebenezer Dorset, does not show any concern about his abducted son. The father is an exceptionally calm, complacent man. He may be glad to get the boy off his hands for a few days. He assumes the kidnappers are in more danger from the victim than the victim is from them. Bill and Sam know nothing about parenthood. They assumed that Ebenezer would be terribly distraught and willing to pay anything to get his darling little boy back into his arms. When he does get Red Chief back into his arms, after forcing Bill and Sam to pay him a sort of reverse-ransom, he can only promise to hold on to the boy for ten minutes, which is just time enough for the two erstwhile kidnappers to make their frantic escape out of town.
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