Class 11 English 2024 Edition www.tntextbooks.in · Section 36

About the Author career. The other, submerged in his overcoat, listened with interest. At the corner stood a drug store, brilliant with electric lights. When they came into this glare each of them turned simultaneously to gaze upon the other’s face. The man from the West stopped sud- denly and released his arm. “You’re not Jimmy Wells,” he snapped. “Twenty years is a long time, but not long enough to change a man’s nose from a Roman to a pug.” “It sometimes changes a good man into a bad one”, said the tall man. “You’ve been under arrest for ten minutes, ‘Silky’ Bob. Chicago thinks you may have dropped over our way and wires us she wants to have a chat with you. Going quietly, are you? That’s sensible. Now, before we go on to the station here’s a note I was asked to hand you. You may read it here at the window. It’s from Patrolman Wells.” The man from the West unfolded the little piece of paper handed to him. His hand was steady when he began to read, but it trembled a little by the time he had finished. The note was rather short. “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 O. Henry ( – ) is a popular American short- story writer whose original name is William Sydney Porter. His works romanticized the life of ordinary people in New York City. His stories are well-known throughout the world. They expressed the effect of coincidence on character and often had unexpected twists in the end. His stories are also noted for their witticism and clever wordplay. O. Henry’s prolific writing period began in in New York City, where he wrote short stories. He wrote one story a week for The New York World Sunday Magazine for over a year. O. Henry’s short story ‘After Twenty Years’ was first published in the Sunday edition of the New York World in . The story was included in the anthology The Four Million, and it has since been re- published in many short story collections. A few of his other popular short stories are The Gift of the Magi, The Cop and the Anthem, The Ransom of Red Chief, A Retrieved Reformation and The Third Ingredient. Time cannot change a man’s nose from Roman to pug. -C-SR-After Twenty - - :