Bat Jarvis
Bat Jarvis is a cat-loving gangster who helps Psmith and Billy Windsor in Psmith, Journalist. He is head of the "Groome Street" gang, and also keeps a pet-shop in Groome Street, in the Bowery. He lives above the shop, and keeps twenty-three cats. A short, stout young man with tough air, he wears his hair in a well-oiled fringe almost down to his eyebrows, giving him the appearance of having no forehead at all; his eyes are small and set close together, his mouth is wide, and his jaw prominent. He is a superstitious soul, believing that cross-eyed cats are lucky, while cats with one blue eye and one yellow bring misfortune. Jarvis appears to be based on Monk Eastman, a real-life New York gangster of the era.
He founded his gang when called on to protect a local dance-hall, Shamrock Hall, from wild youths. It grew steadily, was used by politicians to cast spurious votes en masse, and thus developed power. By the time we meet Mr Jarvis, his gang is the largest in town, unrivalled by the likes of Spider Reilly's "Three Points" or Dude Dawson's "Table Hill" mobs. One of his henchmen is the tall, thin, taciturn "Long Otto".
Read more about this topic: P. G. Wodehouse Minor Characters