Page:Angna Enters - Among the Daughters.djvu/90

 miserable failure, a cobbler whose only interest in life had been philology. Of the squat ugliness of his last name, Klug, he invariably remarked to new acquaintances at almost the first moment of meeting them and as though speaking of a stranger, it was odd that a word sounding like water sucked down a drain meant wise. He also followed this offhand comment by remarking with smiling self-deprecation that he was the least of his cobbler father's lasts.

Thus he earned a reputation of being a kind, modest but pretty smart fellow, who also was a regular encyclopedia of information—a reputation he could back up, for, having read something, it became his own.

When someone said "Semy is smart" he would smile with indulgent self-deprecation, substituting "genius" in his thoughts for "smart." Though Semy did not like anyone, everyone thought him affectionate, generous and self-sacrificing. Look how he supports his sister Ruth, everyone said—for Semy often spoke sadly of Ruth as his responsibility when explaining why he was stuck in Congress.

It was only his sister Ruth, with whom he shared a small flat, who knew Semy could hurt as well as flatter. She was a lumpish sweet girl, several years older than Semy, who could have been pretty had she spent on herself some of the attention she lavished on her brother. She contributed most of their living expenses by working as a bookkeeper; in awe of her brother she conceded, with his cooperation, that she was not his equal and that a young man needed most of what he earned as spending money to get on. Ruth longed to be invited to the studio, and at least share her brother's friends, but her only role to Semy was to pay for their flat and, as housekeeper, be concerned with his needs. Taking for granted her care after their parents' deaths when he was seventeen and finished high school, he discouraged, mockingly, any women, and especially men friends she tried to make. Clem once had asked Semy to bring Ruth to the studio but her affectionate brother had replied ruefully he would like nothing better but that Ruth did not like to go out because she was a homebody.

His first approach to Clem had been that of a reverent boy at the feet of a Master. Clem, unsure of himself and never before flattered except doubtfully by himself, quickly accepted this intelligent new friend who made him feel an important artist.

Until the advent of Clem Brush, Semy had considered painting a minor expression. From Clem however he learned of the ferment 78