red," he answered carelessly. "In what
manner can I satisfy your curiosity? You have already been informed, I
believe, that the person relative to whom you inquire is a Miss Stella
Donovan, of New York; that she has the appearance and manners of a
lady, and possesses brown hair and grey eyes. Is there anything more?"

"Why, no--certainly not."

"I thought possibly you might care to question me regarding my
acquaintance with the young woman?" Westcott went on, his voice
hardening slightly. "If so, I have not the slightest objection to
telling you that it consists entirely of acting as her escort from the
station to the hotel. I do not know why she is here, how long she
intends staying, or what her purpose may be. Indeed, there is only one
fact I do know which may be of interest to you."

Beaton, surprised by the language of the other, remained silent, his
face turning purple, as a suspicion came to him that he was being made
a fool of.

"It is this, my friend--who she is, what she is, and why she happens to
be here, is none of your damn business, and if you so much as mention
her name again in my presence you are going to regret it to your dying
day. That's all."

Beaton, glancing about at the uplifted faces of the card-players, chose
to assume an air of indifference, which scarcely accorded with the
anger in his eyes.

"Ah, come now," he blurted forth, "I didn't mean anything; there's no
harm done--let's have a drink, and be friends."

Westcott shook his head.

"No, I think not," he said slowly. "I'm not much of a drinking man
myself, and when I do I choose my own company. But let me tell you
something, Beaton, for your own good. I know your style, and you are
mighty apt to get into trouble out here if you use any Bowery tactics."

"Bowery tactics!"

"Yes; you claim to live in New York, and you possess all the earmarks
of the East-Side bad man. There is nothing keeping you now from
roughing it with me but the sight of this gun in my belt, and a
suspicion in your mind that I may know how to use it. That suspicion
is correct. Moreover, you will discover this same ability more or less
prevalent throughout this section. However, I am not looking for
trouble; I am trying to avoid it. I haven't sought your company; I do
not want to know you. Now you go back to your bar-room where you will
find plenty of your own kind to associate with. It's going to be
dangerous for you to hang around here any lo