Which excerpt from Chapter 3 of The Scarlet Letter is the best evidence that the stranger in the marketplace wants to keep his true identity a secret? When he found the eyes of Hester Prynne fastened on his own, and saw that she appeared to recognize him, he slowly and calmly raised his finger, made a gesture with it in the air, and laid it on his lips. By the Indian’s side, and evidently sustaining a companionship with him, stood a white man, clad in a strange disarray of civilized and savage costume. A writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them, and making one little pause, with all its wreathed intervolutions in open sight. There was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as of a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould the physical to itself, and become manifest by unmistakable tokens.

It's this part of the excerpt, "When he found the eyes of Hester Prynne fastened on his own, and saw that she appeared to recognize him, he slowly and calmly raised his finger, made a gesture with it in the air, and laid it on his lips."

Explanation:

the illustration   that would give a reader a clear understanding of the text is a picture of men constructing the frame of a building.the frame is made of iron bars. the text describes the job of blacksmiths'. these were very organised and they had different names: "the driver" and "the heater". the text describes the way in which these men worked ; they worked iron pieces as if they were playing a sport. in fact, the text wants to show the men's skills. the text also puts some emphasis on the use of '' rivets'' in construction. this kind of nails were not always used in the construction of manhattan.

some examples:

"and with an underhand toss he hurled the smoking rivet straight at the catcher, who caught it in mid-air in his catching can." men's skills

"when the driver was ready for a new " the emphasis on the rivet ( special nail used in construction).

" it against a beam to remove any cinders, and jammed it into the waiting hole. " the emphasis on the rivet.

there is no excerpt.

put the excerpt in the comments and ill answer.