what is your opinion of the original Jimmy wells? chapter- after twenty years
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Answer:
Jimmy Wells was once the best friend ("chum") of Bob, now a noted criminal. They grew up as if they were brothers, but went their separate ways twenty years before. Bob headed out west when he was 18 while Jimmy stayed in New York. The two best friends agreed to meet at a certain spot twenty years later—in front of Big Joe Brady's restaurant (which has since closed)—no matter what.
Unbeknownst to Bob, who thinks of Jimmy as a bit of a "plodder," Jimmy has become a police officer. When he recognizes his old friend as a notorious criminal with an expensive watch and flashy jewels, Jimmy asks another police officer he knows to pretend to be him. Jimmy himself doesn't have the heart to meet with and then arrest his old friend.
Jimmy is a sharp contrast to Bob. While Bob has pursued a life of crime, Jimmy has devoted himself to fighting crime. When Bob calls Jimmy the "truest, stanchest old chap," he doesn't realize the irony of his words. The integrity and loyalty that Bob remembers Jimmy having will now be used against him as Jimmy shows his loyalty to the police force and his integrity in pursuing justice by arresting his old friend.