One of the most famous humorists in world literature, O. Henry created a unique panorama of American life at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, in grotesque situations, he conveyed the contrasts and paradoxes of his era, which opened up space for people with business acumen, whom the game of chance raises to the top of success, then throws to the very bottom of life. Risking your boredom, the author considers it his duty to preface this story about strong passions with an entry of a geometric nature. Nature moves in a circle . Art in a Straight Line . All natural rounded, all artificial angular. A man who gets lost in a blizzard, without himself realizing it, describes circles; the feet of the citizen, accustomed to rectangular rooms and squares, lead him in a straight line away from himself.