Answer:
1. The reader is meant to view Bob was a loving friend who was keen on relationships.
2. The author might have done this to highlight the fact that there was a good side to Bob even if he had been involved in crime. It might also have been used to provide a contrast between the loyalty of Bob and the disloyalty of Jimmy Wells.
Explanation:
In the story "After Twenty Years", we learn of Bob a wanted man who was excited about meeting his old friend Jimmy Wells. He keeps to the appointment they had some twenty years ago and talks excitedly to a police officer about his friend Jimmy Wells. His keenness on the relationship might have been used by the author to highlight the fact that there was a kind and loyal side to him even though he was a wanted man. It was also used by the author to contrast the attitude of his friend Jimmy Wells who was not so loyal again for he ratted him out to the police. These lines reveal his likeness for his friend and interest in the relationship:
But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he’s alive,
for he always was the truest, staunchest old
chap in the world. He’ll never forget. I came a
thousand miles to stand in this door tonight,
and it’s worth it if my old partner turns up.
The parting conversation between Bob and the police officer also shows his confidence in his friend.
“I’ll give him half an hour at least. If Jimmy is alive on earth, he’ll be here by that time. So long, officer.”
