She had made her choice of companionship, and it was just as well, probably, that the affair had gone no further before he discovered the sort of girl she really was.
Westcott reached this decision and the outer office at the same time, exchanged a careless word or two with Timmons, and finally purchased a cigar and retired to one corner to peruse an old newspaper.

It was not so easy to read, however, for the news failed to interest or keep his mind from wandering widely.

Soon he was staring out through the unwashed window, oblivious to everything but his own thoughts.
Who was this Beaton, and what connection could he have with Bill Lacy's gang?
The row last night had revealed a mutual interest between the men, but what was its nature?
To Westcott's judgment the burly New Yorker did not resemble an Eastern speculator in mining property; he was far more typical of a Bowery rough--a tool rather than an employer in the commission of crime.
Lacy's purpose he believed he understood to some extent--a claim that it was an extension of the La Rosita vein which Westcott had tapped in his recent discovery.

There had been bad blood between them for some time--threats of violence, and rumours of lawsuits.

No doubt Lacy would resort to any dirty trick to get him out of the way and gain control of the property.