The Love-Philtre Of Ikey Schoenstein by O. Henry, 1906
The magic trick:
Double layering the plot twists
O is for O. Henry.
This one has everything you’d expect from O. Henry. Maybe even more?
I especially enjoyed the plot twist. You know it’s coming. It’s O. Henry after all. But you might be a little surprised to see it arrive a couple pages earlier than you expected. If it seems early to you, that’s because it is early. There’s one more twist coming, don’t worry.
And that’s quite a trick on O. Henry’s part.
The selection:
“Nine o’clock,” said Mr. McGowan. “Supper’s at seven. At eight Rosy goes to bed with a headache. At nine old Parvenzano lets me through to his back yard, where there’s a board off Riddle’s fence, next door. I go under her window and help her down the fire–escape. We’ve got to make it early on the preacher’s account. It’s all dead easy if Rosy don’t balk when the flag drops. Can you fix me one of them powders, Ikey?”
Ikey Schoenstein rubbed his nose slowly.
“Chunk,” said he, “it is of drugs of that nature that pharmaceutists must have much carefulness. To you alone of my acquaintance would I intrust a powder like that. But for you I shall make it, and you shall see how it makes Rosy to think of you.”
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