Robert Stone introduces a minor character in his short story Helping with a single sentence: Blankenship had red hair, a brutal face, and a sneaking manner. Three details. That's all. And yet Blankenship is immediately, completely present – you know him, you distrust him, you brace for whatever he's about to do. But then Stone gives us a second line of description: He was a sponger and petty thief whom Elliot had seen a number of times before. But this sentence is almost redundant. The face...