The policeman was standing at the corner of Twenty-fourth Street and a prodigiously dark alley near where the elevated railroad crosses the street. The time was two o’clock in the morning; the outlook a stretch of cold, drizzling, unsociable blackness until the dawn. A man, wearing a long overcoat, with his hat tilted down in front, and carrying something in one hand, walked softly but rapidly out of the black alley. The policeman accosted him civilly, but with the assured air that is linked with conscious authority. The hour, the alley’s musty reputation, the pedestrian’s haste, the burden he carried—these … Continue reading The Marionettes

By O. Henry Because of his links to the criminal underworld, Jimmy Valentine only had to serve a little over 10 months of a sentence that was supposed to last for four years. He goes to the flat he had previously lived in, packs up his equipment, and then departs. In the weeks that followed, more robberies involving cash were carried out, and the police officer, Ben Price, who was responsible for landing Valentine in prison in the first place, was assigned to work on the new case. He has come to the conclusion that Jimmy is responsible for the … Continue reading A RETRIEVED REFORMATION