Feld the shoemaker and his assistant Sobel are working at their benches on a snowy February day. Feld thinks about Max, a young man he admires for his dedication to pursuing his education. He contrasts Max’s determination with the lack of interest his daughter Miriam shows in education.
At that moment Max brings in a pair of shoes for repair. Feld takes him aside, out of Sobel’s hearing, and asks whether Max would like to meet Miriam. After Max sees a picture of Miriam and asks a few questions about her, he agrees to get in touch with her. Feld gives him Miriam’s telephone number. Feld decides to repair the shoes at a reduced price although he does not tell Max of his generosity. Later that day, Sobel pounds so hard on the last (the wooden mold of the human foot on which shoes are built or repaired) that he breaks it. He then grabs his coat and rushes outside, quitting his job.
Sobel’s departure leaves Feld in an unfortunate situation. He cannot run the business entirely by himself. He remembers how, five years earlier, he had had a heart attack and would have had to sell the business had it not been for Sobel, a Polish refugee, who appeared and begged him for work. Feld took him on and Sobel soon learned how to run the business. Feld trusted him. Sobel, although uneducated, spent his spare time reading, and was in the habit of lending his books to Miriam. Although he earned little, he showed no desire to secure a betterpaying job.
One week later, Feld seeks out Sobel in his rooming house, but the landlady tells him Sobel is not at home. Feld does not believe her. He decides to hire a new assistant, and although the new man is not as proficient as Sobel, Feld is satisfied. He also learns that, on Friday, Max is to have his first...
(The entire section is 725 words.)