In paragraph 9, what the phrase "drew him on by artful questions" means is that he questioned him to try to gain privileged information.
He had to find out some information that was very important to him, so he started questioning him furtively so as to get to the bottom of things.
Answer: I feel like the answer would be “taken out of action,” thats my take on it…
I think it would be the word of heavy traffic.
If i am to use a proper spelling and grammar, that sentence could be changed into :
The store, with its half roof covered in snow, was freezing to the point where the customers were visibly shaking
hope this helps
