Why does the author include the phrases "the thicker her silences” and "No prodding will elicit clues”?

Which rhetorical device is used in this excerpt from "the danger of lying in bed" by mark twain? "if i am going to travel by rail i shan't need it. lying at home in bed is the thing i am afraid of."

What happened when the boy who survived an explosion aboard a steamboat returns to town

Read the excerpt. “this is a train-servicing station and we have to wait for a train.” he shakes his head. i smile. “it’d be nice if we could get one.” lauren mizock has revised her draft of “train tracks” to convey plot events using