“The warden entered the shoe shop, where Jimmy Valentine was diligently making workpieces, and led him into the prison office. There, the warden presented Jimmy with the pardon that the governor had signed that morning. Jimmy took it, looking weary. He served almost ten months of his four-year sentence, although he expected to serve no more than three months. When a prisoner has as many friends on the outside as Jimmy Valentine, it’s hardly worth even shaving his head...”