1、ANewYorkCityhobonamedSoapy,whosetsouttogetarrested sohecanavoidsleepinginthecoldwinterasaguestofthecity jail. Soapys ploys伎俩include swindling诈骗a restaurant into serving him an expensive meal,breaking the plate-glass window of a luxury shop, repeating his eatery exploit at a humble简陋的diner,sexually h
2、arassinga young woman, pretending to be publiclyintoxicated喝醉to make troubles, and stealing another mansumbrella. However, all of these attempts are quickly exposed as failures.Based on these events, Soapy despairs of his goal of getting arrested andimprisoned. As O. Henry describes events, the smal
3、l church has a workingorgan机构and a practicing organist风琴演奏者. As Soapy listens to the church organ play ananthem圣歌, he experiences a spiritualepiphany神灵显现then he resolves决定to cease停止to be homeless, end his life as atramp afflicted苦恼withunemployment, and regain hisself-respect. As Soapy stands on the
4、street and considers the plan for his future, however, a policeman taps him on the shoulder and asks him what he is doing. When Soapy answers “Nothing,” his fate is sealed未知: he has been arrested forloitering闲荡. In the magistrates法官court on the following day, he is convicted定罪of amisdemeanor行为不端and is sentenced to three months inBlackwells Island, the New York City jail.