In "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket" why does the story continue after Tom gets safely back into the apartment?Plz help me and thnx in advance! =)

To answer this, think about how different the message
would be if Tom just made it into the apartment and lay there and the story
ended.

If Tom had done that, the message of the story would
be completely different.  In that story, Tom would have gone out on the ledge because he
was so obsessed with his work.  He would have risked his life, and he would have won. 
The message would be that it makes sense to be that way -- that it is good to be like
that.

But look what actually happens in the story.  The
piece of paper flies out the window and Tom's risk was all for nothing.  Now you have a
totally different message.  Now the message is that all that obsession with work really
doesn't get you anything.  Tom understands that and laughs at
himself.

If the story ended with him lying there, he'd be
congratulating himself, not laughing at himself, and the message would be totally
different from what it is.