The author’s expressive style is created with the help of lexical expressive means and stylistic devices. To show young girls’ having a lot of things in common the author uses zeugma: “and found their taste to art, chicory salad and bishop sleeves...”. The usage of aposiopesis “A man?" said Sue, with a jew's-harp twang in her voice. “Is a man worth - but, no, doctor; there is nothing of the kind” reflects Sue’s negative reaction, disagreement to the doctor’s words and not wanting to say too much. To emphasize the grandness of the notions art and literature, O. Henry uses antonomasia: “way to Art, way to Literature”. Enumeration “Twelve, she said, and little later “eleven”; and then “ten”, and “nine”; and then “eight” and “seven”, almost together” stresses Johnsy’s hopelessness and despair as well as the monotony of the action. Her weakness, paleness, tiredness and exhaustion are depicted with a help of detached constructions: “Leaves. On the ivy vine. When the last one falls I must go, too...”, simile: “lying white and still as fallen statue...”, “just like one of those poor, tired leaves”and partial parallelism: “I’m tired of waiting. I’m tired of thinking”. To show Johny’s moodiness, at first having a great desire to bring her a lot of things and then sudden change of her mind, the author uses anticlimax: “You may bring a me a little broth now, and some milk with a little port in it, and - no”. O. Henry uses polysyndeton: “And then they found a lantern, still lighted, and a ladder that had been dragged from its place, and some scattered brushes, and a palette with green and yellow colors mixed on it” to show how many things needed Behrman to make  his sacrifice. 

A combination of these expressive means and stylistic devices makes the author’s style highly original and easily recognizable.