The story revolves around a man who seeks revenge against his former employer for firing him. He discovers that the employer's daughter has been embezzling funds from her father's business and decides to use this information to blackmail her into giving him money. He demands $10,000 in exchange for not revealing her actions to her father. The woman agrees, but only if he can get it without arousing suspicion. He comes up with a plan to steal the money by replacing the employer's safe combination with a duplicate key. The man successfully steals the money and gives it to his former employer as payment for his revenge. However, the employer is unaware of the true nature of the transaction and believes that the man has simply returned the stolen funds. In the end, the woman is left with nothing, having been blackmailed out of her own ill-gotten gains.
By O. Henry · First published 1910 · Genre: Humor, Literary Fiction, Satire