Question

Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this story.

Answer 1

O' Henry's choice to have Jimmy write the note to Bob provides the reader with insight into Jimmy's character and illustrates how different the two men are after twenty years. After this time, Jimmy has become a police officer and Bob, a famous criminal. They used to be friends when they were younger. But when they meet after twenty years, Jimmy realizes that his friend is a known criminal who is being searched for, and, as he used to be close to him in the past, he cannot arrest him on his own, so he looks for another police officer to arrest his friend.