Wording is very important in communication, whether it be in talking out a problem or conveying a message, and O. Henry’s short story Hearts and Hands is and example of that importance.
In the story, a marshal and the couterfeiter he’s arrested switch roles in front of a high-society lady the counterfeiter knows when they meet on a train (the role switch is the plot twist that readers are given small hints to until the reveal at the end). The marshal is handcuffed by his left hand to the counterfeiter to keep him from escaping, meaning that the counterfeiter, Mr. Easton (who is presumably right-handed) has his right hand cuffed, and to anyone listening to his conversation with the lady, he is the marshal. The lady apparently does not see anything strange about the “marshal” (Mr. Easton) having his right hand cuffed, but another pair of passengers had been watching and thought it odd that the “marshal” should have his right hand cuffed rather than his left.
That is what leads readers to the assumption that Mr. Easton is actually the counterfeiter and the other man the marshal; however, a few other meanings could be taken from that observation, going off the assumption of the observer that Mr. Easton is the marshal and the other man the criminal.
Firstly: that Mr. Easton is left-handed, and the buildup of the plot twist to that point was all just a clever ruse to make readers laugh and groan at the ending. The observer says, “Did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand?”, deeming it strange, which is reasonable considering that the vast majority of people are right-handed. Therefore, rather than perceiving the plot twist as the role-switch that the author intended it to be, readers might see it as Mr. Easton simply being left-handed.
Secondly: this is a bit of a stretch, but the twist could be perceived as the two men being a homosexual couple, Mr. Easton being left-handed and the other man right-handed and traveling as officer and criminal to avoid questions and judgement. The author describes Mr. Easton as handsome and having a “bold, frank countenanced” and the other man as “ruffled, glum”, and “roughly dressed”. Two traveling companions so different in appearance would no doubt draw stares, judgement, maybe questions, all unwanted; so to avoid the attention, they play roles that draw upon the people’s implicit bias for authenticity. And Mr. Easton’s right hand is cuffed to the other man’s left, which would explain their being left-handed and right-handed, respectively.
The second alternate perception was not completely serious, but it is as logically plausible as the first one and does still work as an example of how important wording is in communication. I guess the main point of this is to watch what you say as well as what you do, because words are powerful, powerful things and can have impacts just as great, if not greater than, actions.