the ornate marble entrance-hall.

Lilas fitted a key to the first door on the right as they went in,
explaining, "I'm on the ground floor, and find it very
convenient."

"This place is too grand for me," Lorelei objected.

"Oh, offer your own price for Gertie's flat if you like it.
They're crazy for tenants. If you didn't want a furnished place
you could get in rent-free. They have to fill up these buildings
to sell them. I've lived for months without paying a cent, and
always in a new apartment. As soon as my lease was up and the
owner wanted to renew I'd move to another house that wasn't full.
It's cheaper than hotels--if you want to save money."

Lorelei was surprised to find her friend's quarters not only
richly, but lavishly furnished. The floors were covered with rugs
of the deepest hue and richest luster; the furniture of the front
room into which she was first ushered was of an inlaid foreign
pattern, of which she could not guess the name or period. There
was a player-piano to match the furniture, and a cabinet of rolls.
Near by stood a specially made Victrola with an extensive
selection of records. There were bronze lamps, ravishing bits of
bric-a-brac, lace curtains of which she could judge the quality,
and heavy hangings, sheathed now in their summer coverings. The
decorations of the room were harmonious and bespoke a reckless
disregard of cost. A fluffy Japanese spaniel with protruding eyes
and distorted visage capered deliriously at its mistress's feet.