Twenty Years After his own service to Mazarin, he refuses to watch over the Duc de Beaufort, who is imprisoned at the time, and soon learns that, in consequence, he is to be returned to the Bastille, though this does not deter him from speaking highly of the achievements of d'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers. Having determined that d'Artagnan is the man he seeks, Mazarin enters the chambers of the Queen to let her know that he has enlisted the man who had served her so well twenty years earlier. The Queen, feeling guilty for having forgotten d'Artagnan's service, gives Mazarin a diamond
After Twenty Years and Jimmy Wells have an agreement to meet after twenty years on a particular spot near a restaurant. While Bob is waiting, a policeman arrives and they begin to talk as Bob boasts of how well he has fared meanwhile. Later, "Jimmy Wells" arrives and as they walk into a lighted area, Bob discovers that this is not the real Jimmy he knew. Characteristic of O. Henry's surprise endings to stories, the story ends with the revelation that the policeman who met Bob earlier was Jimmy Wells, but lacking heart to arrest his own friend who he recognizes to be