When criminals commit illegal acts, Detective Ben Price and Agent Jimmy Wells are there to deliver justice and put the wrongdoer in their rightful place. The short story "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry features Officer Jimmy Wells, a fine peacekeeper who takes his job very seriously, when he must confront his closest friend, now a fugitive. Despite the fact that they are childhood friends, Jimmy asks an undercover man to arrest the outlaw. The other short story, "A Retrieved Reformation" also by O. Henry, depicts Detective Ben Price, a prominent officer specializing in theft cases, who finally catches a safecracker he has been pursuing for years, but seeing him save a little girl gives Ben pause. However, Ben eventually lets Jimmy move away after realizing that Jimmy is living an honest life. Although the two police officers share some similarities, the choices they made in urgent situations show an intense difference. To begin with, the two police officers, Ben Price and Jimmy Wells, are both virtuous men who care about their duty to do justice. This quote illustrates Ben Price's respect and loyalty to the law. "The losses are now high enough for Ben Price's work to be talked about... It has been revealed that Ben Price undertook the trial of the elusive crackman... Ben Price knew of Jimmy's habits. He had learned them while working on the Springfield case” (O. Henry 193). Likewise, this quote illustrates the fact that Ben Price is a notorious detective who is only summoned for cases requiring extreme diligence. 'a well-developed technique for tracking down criminals and exploiting all the information he obtained on them Similarly, this quote shows Jimmy... middle of paper... To summarize, the two officers have. some traits in common, but ultimately they have different personalities and ways of dealing with difficult situations. Basically, Agent Wells and Detective Ben Price take their roles as protectors of the public very seriously. and are responsible for ensuring that everything is in order. However, the way they handle important decisions is different and somewhat unexpected. For example, after pursuing Jimmy Valentine for years, Ben Price decides not to capture him. However, Jimmy Wells has Bob arrested immediately after realizing that Bob is a wanted criminal, without hesitation. Above all, these two exceptional stories written by O. Henry incorporate the element of surprise. It is very pleasant to be fooled throughout the story, only to be shocked by the complex and mind-boggling ending..