It was a NEW building, painted YELLOW, with a SHINGLED roof that was not like the RED TILE of the school in Mazatlán.
This is the only sentence with adjectives to describe what she saw.
The answer is Formal, calm, secure, reassuring
Henry is alone because he is lost in the wilderness. Though there is no definite story or title of the book given, we assume that the answer to your question is that the character got lost by some events into the wilderness. It might be a book that's about the story of his triumphs and failures, and ultimately his survival. The plot is quite adventurous as it seems.
Jim gives Della her present-- a set of ornamental combs, which she will be unable to use until her hair grows back out. Della gives Jim the watch chain, and he tells her that he sold the watch to buy the combs.