Explain the meaning of the word apace as it is used in the opening paragraph of the passage

Read the passage adapted from aesop’s fables. what is the theme of the story?

What can be inferred from the following sentence in the passage? then he asked me my name. scarcely had i uttered it when he made a gesture of astonishment. a) the sentence implies that the attendant knows the colonel. b) the sentence implies that the colonel is giving up on life. c) the sentence implies that the attendant is going to get fired. d) the sentence implies that the colonel recognizes the attendant's name.

In this excerpt , mr.stonecrop is compared to a mountain. how does this description relates to mr.stoncrops roll in the main conflict of the story