Elias, an apprentice in a nineteenth-century print shop, had left his woodcut on the master's desk. The master was speaking to a customer in the next room. Elias stood by the press, rubbing the edge of his thumb until it reddened. Each time a footstep crossed the passage, he looked towards the door. The press stood silent beside him.
From the third sentence of the passage, identify the words which show that Elias is anxious.
456 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE English Language 1.3 Content: prose fiction study requirements, covering 1.3.1 Read challenging prose fiction for the unseen 19th-century extract. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.