O. Henry's short story "The Ransom of Red Chief" tells the tale of two kidnappers who seize a child who brings them nothing but trouble and
leaves them second-guessing their kidnapping plan. Read the excerpt from the short story. Then, respond to the question that follows.
After breakfast the kid takes a piece of leather with strings wrapped around it out of his pocket and goes outside the cave unwinding it.
"What's he up to now?" says Bill, anxiously. "You don't think he'll run away, do you, Sam?"
"No fear of it," says I. "He don't seem to be much of a home body. But we've got to fix up some plan about the ransom. There don't seem to be
much excitement around Summit on account of his disappearance; but maybe they haven't realized yet that he's gone. His folks may think he's
spending the night with Aunt Jane or one of the neighbours. Anyhow, he'll be missed to-day. To-night we must get a message to his father
demanding the two thousand dollars for his return."
Just then we heard a kind of war-whoop, such as David might have emitted when he knocked out the champion Goliath. It was a sling that
Red Chief had pulled out of his pocket, and he was whirling it around his head.
I dodged, and heard a heavy thud and a kind of a sigh from Bill, like a horse gives out when you take his saddle off. A rock the size of an egg had
caught Bill just behind his left ear. He loosened himself all over and fell in the fire across the frying pan of hot water for washing the dishes. I
dragged him out and poured cold water on his head for half an hour.
David and Goliath is a biblical allusion. David was a human warrior who went against the much larger Goliath armed only with a slingshot and
some stones. David was victorious. In a short response of 2-3 sentences, explain why the author used this allusion and how it affects the
connotation and meaning of this section of text.