# After Twenty Years explained — Short Fiction

> Chapter companion for Short Fiction by O. Henry.

## What happens

A policeman on his beat encounters a man waiting in a doorway for a friend he hasn't seen in twenty years. The man, Bob, explains that he and his childhood friend Jimmy Wells made a pact to meet at that spot exactly two decades later. After the policeman leaves, a man claiming to be Jimmy arrives, but Bob soon realizes he is an impostor. The stranger reveals he is a plainclothes officer arresting Bob for a crime in Chicago, and hands him a note from the real Jimmy Wells, who recognized Bob as a wanted man and couldn't bring himself to make the arrest personally.

## Themes in this chapter

### Deception and Appearance vs. Reality

The man Bob believes he is meeting his old friend Jimmy, but the person who arrives is a plainclothes officer. The note reveals Jimmy's deception in arranging the arrest.

### Nostalgia and the Passage of Time

The story revolves around a twenty-year-old promise, the changes in the characters' lives, and the vanished restaurant that once stood at the meeting place.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The narrator describes the scene and the policeman's movements.

### Bob Hart

The man waiting for his friend Jimmy Wells; later revealed to be 'Silky' Bob, wanted in Chicago.

### Jimmy Valentine

Jimmy Wells, the friend who keeps the appointment but arranges for Bob's arrest.

## Key lines

> The policeman on the beat moved up the avenue impressively. The impressiveness was habitual and not for show, for spectators were few.

The officer patrolled the street with a practiced dignity, even though few people were around to see him.

_Establishes the setting and the policeman's demeanor._

> Twenty years ago tonight... I dined here at 'Big Joe' Brady's with Jimmy Wells, my best chum, and the finest chap in the world.

Two decades ago, I had dinner at this spot with my closest friend, Jimmy Wells.

_Bob explains the origin of the appointment._

> You're not Jimmy Wells... Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to change a man's nose from a Roman to a pug.

You aren't Jimmy Wells; even after twenty years, a person's nose shape doesn't change that drastically.

_Bob realizes the man is an impostor based on physical features._

> Bob: I was at the appointed place on time. When you struck the match to light your cigar I saw it was the face of the man wanted in Chicago. Somehow I couldn't do it myself, so I went around and got a plainclothes man to do the job. Jimmy.

Jimmy writes that he kept the appointment but recognized Bob as a fugitive, so he arranged for another officer to make the arrest.

_The note reveals Jimmy's loyalty to duty over friendship._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters/after-twenty-years
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/short_fiction_41_se/chapters