With the support of the family entirely upon her shoulders, she had been driven to many shifts in order to stretch her salary to livable proportions.  Peter was a total burden, and Jim either refused or was unable to contribute toward the common fund, while the mother devoted her time almost solely to managing Lorelei’s affairs.  Presents were showered upon the girl, and these Mrs. Knight converted into cash.  Conspicuous stage characters are always welcome at the prominent cafes; hence Lorelei never had to pay for food or drink when alone, and when escorted she received a commission on the money spent.  She was well paid for posing, advertisements of toilet articles, face creams, dentifrices, and the like, especially if accompanied by testimonials, yielded something.  In the commercial exploitation of her daughter Mrs. Knight developed something like genius.  She arranged for paid interviews and special beauty articles in the Sunday supplements; she saw to it that Lorelei’s features became identified with certain makes of biscuits, petticoats, chewing-gums, chocolates, cameras, short-vamp shoes, and bath-tubs.  But of all the so-called “grafts” open to handsome girls in her business the quickest and best returns came from prodigal entertainers like Jarvis Hammon.

As Lorelei and her companion left their taxi-cabs and entered Proctor’s Hotel, shortly before midnight, they were met by a head waiter and shown into an ornate ivory-and-gold elevator which lifted them noiselessly to an upper floor.  They made their exit into a deep-carpeted hall, at the end of which two splendid creatures in the panoply of German field-marshals stood guard over one of the smaller banquet-rooms.

Hammon himself greeted the girls when they had surrendered their wraps, and, after his introduction to Lorelei, engaged Lilas in earnest conversation.

Lorelei watched him curiously.  She saw a powerfully built gray-haired man, whose vigor age had not impaired.  In face he was perhaps fifty years old, in body he was much less.  He was the typical forceful New York man of affairs, carefully groomed, perhaps a little inclined to stoutness.  By this time millionaires had lost their novelty for the girl.  She had met some who were more distinguished in appearance than this man, but never one who seemed possessed of more nervous energy and virility.  Jarvis Hammon had a bold, incisive manner that was compelling and stamped him as a big man in more ways than one.  Playfully he pinched Lilas’s cheek, then turned with a smile to say: 

“You’ll pardon us for whispering, won’t you, Miss Knight?  You see, Lilas got up this little party, and I’ve been waiting to consult her about some of the details.  Of course, she was late, as usual.  However”—­he ran an admiring eye over the two girls—­“the time wasn’t wasted, I see.  My!  How lovely you both look!”

Taking an arm of each, he swept them toward a reception-room from which issued noisy laughter.