D - 'Like a house that a child might have constructed from cards' is the best option to indicate what the word 'ramshackle' means.
Ramshackle means something in severe disrepair (example: an old, rusty car is a ramshackle car or this house). A house that a child constructed from cards is also thought to be not sturdy and in need of repair when it comes down.
It’s basically the same because they are both dealing with a strong female character.
The rough, rugged and haunted Dallas fascinates Pony. Even before Pony becomes an ace storyteller, Dallas acts as his muse, or inspiration. Pony says,
I used to like to draw his picture when he was in a dangerous mood, for then, I could get his personality down in a few lines. (1.46)
Notice the "used to." This is some subtle foreshadowing. Pony no longer sketches Dally because Dally's already dead when Pony's writing. His death is one of his reasons Pony's writing this piece in the first place