and mrs. greensteen , who would choose to perish together in that fire rather than escape , lived luxurious lives in the penthouse suite of the old hotel -- and it was possible to see real cowboys and livestock owners near the hotel lobby flashing enormous wads of twenty-dollar bills and photogenic smiles ; they began arriving the weekend before the rodeo in waves , a bit like long-legged locust , getting in and out of elevators and cadillacs , the masses of these long exotic cars flocked together like migratory birds which had their tall tail fins banded by chrome and had been painted the most astonishing shades of yellow , turquoise or pink .