The Old Indian

By: John Isaac Jones

Narrated by: James H Kiser

For years, Big Walter had dreamed of becoming Georgia's Director of Public Safety. Now his big opportunity was before him. The governor's chief aide said all he had to do was find the body of the governor's college-age son who had been swept into the raging waters of the Tallulah River in north Georgia.

After three days, however, Big Walter, armed with all of the body-finding technology the 20th century had to offer, came up with nothing. Then one of the locals suggested he talk to an old Indian who lived on the river. This is Big Walter's story.

©2016 John I. Jones (P)2017 John I Jones

Another great short story!

I really enjoyed this short story. It is well performed and well written with a great message! I received a review copy at my request and voluntarily reviewed.

Well Written Short Story

When the governor's young son is dragged into a river and lost, the governor pulls out all the stops to find his son's body. Big Walter is promised the promotion he's been dreaming of if he can give the governor some peace. Unable to find the body within the time allotted, Big Walter turns to his last resort, an old Indian named Charlie.

I enjoyed listening to this short story. It reminded me of O. Henry's stories about the Old West, both in the style and the characters' personalities. I'm always impressed by the nuances that can be packed into a short story, and this author is no exception. The narration was a perfect fit for the rustic style of the story. I requested a copy of the audiobook, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

The Old Indian

A politician takes advantage of a sad situation to further his career.

A thought provoking short story. Well written and the narration was perfect.

The old ways are sometimes the best

After technology and modern policing fails to find the missing body of the Governor's son an old native american tracker is employed to find the boy. A quick tail, "The Old Indian" shows the task being undertaken by simple, yet almost supernatural means, while "Big Walter" who leads the search claims the glory.

The story might have actually been served better by being shorter, having finished earlier. There are two themes crammed into this short story - that of simple vs technology, and of lying to get ahead. But having put both of them in the story they both lose a bit of impact, especially as they don't really overlap. In such a short space both cannot have justice done. There is a poignant point for one of the themes which would have been a good ending for the story, yet it keeps going to beyond that to cover the other theme. This just stretches the story out beyond it's natural climax point.

It's an interesting story, and generally well told. It just don't have any real climax or 'big moment' that usually drives a short story. It just kind of meanders to it's end.

Narration by James H Kiser is okay, but nothing exciting. He is fairly monotone throughout his reading of the story, not separating characters or adding anything to the story by his narration. He is clear and easy to understand, while on the slightly quicker end of the narration speed scale.

The Moral of the story is

Big John lost a lot of sleep because he did not give credit where it was due. The old Indian did not want anything from him. But when someone does something for you it is always best to acknowledge it and give credit where it is due. Big John would still have gotten his job because he asked the Indian for help.but he was anxious for the rest of his life because he hid the fact the Indian helped him. How many people have gotten the praise that did not belong to them? But in the end, when Big John meets up with God he will have to give an account. I got this ARC via audiobook boom and this is my voluntary review. The narrator was very good.