Readers the world over recognize O. Henry as the best short story writer of the early twentieth century. Widely known as a master of irony, O. Henry also displays here dazzling wordplay and a wry combination of pathos and humor.

The Big City : The social triangle -- Tobin's palm -- The last leaf -- Schools and schools -- Springtime á la Carte -- Best-seller -- The gift of the magi -- The green door -- Transients in Arcadia -- Brickdust row -- The enchanted profile -- The furnished room -- Con Men And Hoboes : Shearing the wolf -- Hostages to momus -- A retrieved reformation -- The higher pragmatism -- Conscience in art -- The ethics of pig -- Jeff Peters as a personal magnet -- A tempered wind -- The Wild West And The Tame West : Telemachus, friend -- The Caballaro's way -- Friends in San Rosario -- The sphinx apple -- The princes and the puma -- A chaparral prince -- The enchanted kiss -- The lonesome road -- The hiding of Black Bill -- Hygeia at the solito -- Our Neighbors To The South: Domestic : "The rose of Dixie" -- Cherchez la Femme -- The fool-killer -- The moment of victory -- Our Neighbors To The Suth: Foreign : Two renegades -- He also serves -- the lotus and the bottle -- The Shamrock and the palm -- Shoes -- A double-dyed deceiver -- The fourth in Salvador.