Denotation of a word means its literal definition, may be one
you found in the dictionary and connotation of any word means the positive and
negative associations the word is carrying.
The denotation of word bony is consist of bones or full of
bones and connotation is if we refer word bony to the people and other animals
it often implies being extremely skinny or underweight.
The excerpt that tells the White family's uncertainty on the Major's story would be when Mr. White said:
"If the tale about the monkey's paw is not more truthful than those he has been telling us," said Herbert, as the door closed behind their guest, just in time to catch the last train, "we shan't make much out of it." This is because they are not sure what is true about the information that a stranger told them in the train.
Since there is no underlined portion we aren’t able to answer the question. Sorry
