As she entered the store Lorelei reflected with some disgust that
no visiting Rajah, no barbaric potentate--no one, in fact, except
a self-advertised musical-comedy queen--would so flagrantly defy
good taste as to ride in such a vehicle.

She was engaged in her final purchase when a dazzling creature in
red and white descended upon her with exclamations of surprise and
delight. It was Mademoiselle Demorest herself, and her greeting
was so effusive that the stream of shoppers halted in the aisle.
Mademoiselle Demorest wore a gown of a style that proved her taste
in dress as individual as her choice of motor-cars. A war-like
head-decoration of aigrette feathers burst into spray above her
right ear; the wrists of her white gloves bore her monogram worked
in gold-thread to match those that ornamented the livery of her
servants. A heavy string of white-coral beads, the size of
cherries, was looped about her neck, and she carried the mate to
the excitable poodle that defied the curiosity-seekers outside.
All in all, she was a figure to awaken interest in the nightly
performance at the Palace Garden, and to cause men customers to
forget their change.

"Miss Knight! I'm SO glad to see you again," she burbled. "How
SWEET you look!" The poodle pawed frantically and yelped a shrill
appreciation of the meeting. "I hoped we'd meet again; but where
HAVE you been? I--Hush, Francois! Shake hands with the lady,
there's a dear." Francois squirmed violently and snapped at a
small boy whose mother had pushed forward to stare at the
notorious beauty.

Lorelei laughed. "How well he minds!"