learned.

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.