Of necessity the two lived in the closest intimacy, than which nothing is ordinarily more fatal to domestic happiness.  But Bob was unique; he did not tire; he began to rely upon Lorelei as a sick man leans upon his nurse, and to worship her as a man worships his sweetheart.  There was more than passion in his endearments now.

But it was discouraging to the girl, who gained no strength from her penance and derived no satisfaction whatever in service for service’s sake.  The whole arrangement tried her patience desperately; she was weary in mind and body, and looked back with regret upon her former easy life.  There was no time now for recreation—­Bob had to be amused.  Salary-day assumed a new importance, and she began to count the cost of every purchase.

So spring went and midsummer came.  It was terribly hot in the city; the nights were breathless, the days were glaring, and this heat was especially trying to one in Bob’s condition.  In his periods of gaiety he showered his wife with attentions and squandered every dollar he could borrow in presents for her; in his hours of depression he was everything strange, morose, and irritable.

Without her knowledge he applied to his old firm for a salaried position and was refused.  He appealed to Merkle with the same result, but succeeded in borrowing a thousand dollars, with which he bought Lorelei a set of black opals, going into debt for half the price.

CHAPTER XX

Lorelei’s family continued to smart under a sense of bitter injustice, but although they kept aloof they were by no means uninterested in her experiment.  On the contrary, they watched it with derisive enjoyment, predicting certain failure.  After Hannibal Wharton’s insult Jim was all for a prompt revenge, but he could not determine just how to use his dangerous knowledge to the best advantage.  He considered the advisability of enlisting the aid of Max Melcher; but, not liking the thought of dividing the loot, he decided provisionally to engineer a separation between Bob and Lorelei.

His desire to make mischief arose in only a slight degree from resentment—­Jim’s method of making a living had long since dulled the edge of feeling—­it was merely the first step in a comprehensive scheme.  With Bob and Lorelei estranged, a divorce would follow, and divorces were profitable.  A divorce, moreover, would open the way for a second inroad upon the Wharton wealth, for with Lorelei’s skirts clear Jim could proceed with a larger scheme of extortion, based on the Hammon murder.

One evening after Lorelei had gone to the theater Jim appeared at the apartment and found Bob in a mood so restless and irritable that he dared not go out.

“I had a hunch you were lonesome,” the caller began, “so I came up to whittle and spit at the stove.”

Now Jim could be agreeable when he chose; his parasitic life had developed in him a certain worldly good-fellowship; he was frankly unregenerate, and he had sufficient tact never to apologize nor to explain.  Therefore he kept Bob entertained.