The surplus in his pocket had grown lamentably small.

As he made his way homeward in a physical and mental condition which made it impossible for him either to argue to himself or to express a sense of hope to any extent, he passed the shop of Larry Highgetty.

Larry was a shoemaker.

Sam had worked at shoemaking while he was in State prison.
He felt, although Larry might have been offended at the imputation, that there ought to be a fellow-feeling between them; so he ventured into the shop.

Larry was sitting at his bench with a lady's shoe in one hand and with his head leaning against the wall of the room.