Bushes Rustle (Auditory Imagery)
After posting the ransom letter in Poplar Cove, Sam returns to the cave to discover that Bill and the boy are missing. He searches the area and calls out for half an hour before he "hear[s] the bushes rustle, and Bill wabble[s] out into the little glade in front of the cave." In this example of auditory imagery, O. Henry describes the sound of something coming through the bushes before announcing it is Bill to replicate for the reader how Sam hears Bill coming before he sees him. The moment creates a sense of uncertainty and expectation, as it is unclear who or what is about to emerge.
A Look of Ineffable Peace (Visual Imagery)
After Bill explains how he got rid of Johnny by dropping him off near the road back to Summit, Sam comments on Bill's appearance, saying that he is "is puffing and blowing, but there is a look of ineffable peace and growing content on his rose-pink features." In this example of visual imagery, O. Henry emphasizes the mixture of exhaustion and relief Bill exhibits after he has freed himself of Johnny's pestering presence. The look of pure tranquility on Bill enhances the scene's comedic presence, as Bill doesn't know Johnny is standing eight feet behind him.
Peaceful Landscape (Visual Imagery)
The day after kidnapping Johnny, Sam goes to the top of the mountain to see what is going on in the town. He hopes to see townspeople desperately searching the countryside for the missing boy but instead sees "a peaceful landscape dotted with one man ploughing with a dun mule." The visual imagery of a sole figure in the distance creates a juxtaposition of Sam's fantasy against the reality of the situation. With this contrast, O. Henry presents a comedic split between how Sam believes the kidnapping has been received and the reality that it has failed.
