"After Twenty Years" tells the story of two friends who made a pact to meet at a specific time and place. Bob, a noted criminal from Chicago, arrives on time and speaks to a policeman who happens to be walking by. Later, it's revealed that this policeman was Jimmy Wells, Bob's friend.
Bob and Jimmy were friends when they were younger. Before Bob left to try his luck in the West, he and Jimmy made a pact to meet again exactly twenty years later.
At the appointed time, Bob waits outside a hardware store. A policeman walks up and asks what he's doing. Bob explains, boasting about how well he has done for himself.
Later, a man claiming to be Bob's friend arrives. It turns out that this man is a plainclothes police officer sent to arrest Bob, a known criminal from Chicago. The original policeman, Jimmy Wells, didn't have the heart to arrest Bob, because Bob was his friend.
