Rancho Notorious

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# Oh, listen

# Listen well

# Listen to the legend

of Chuck-A-Luck

# Listen to the song

of the gambler's wheel

# A souvenir from a bygone year

# Spinning a tale

of the old frontier

# And a man of steel...

# And a passion

that drove him on and on and on

# It began, they say, one summer day

# When the sun was blazing down

# 'Twas back in the early '70s

# In a little Wyoming town

# So listen to the legend

of Chuck-A-Luck

# Listen to the wheel of fate

# As round and round

with a whispering sound it spins

# The old, old story of hate,

murder and revenge! #

Nothing's better than that to

make a man agreeable.

- Especially at midday.

Why'd you come in town?

- To kiss you.

- You oughtn't be away.

Last calf I had an iron on

told me I could come.

When we get married...

- Eight days.

And when we get the ranch...

- Eight years.

- I found a name for it.

Yeah? What is it?

- Lost Cloud Ranch.

Pretty?

- Pretty as you.

Wow! Oh, Vern!

- Came from Paris in France, the man said.

Oh, it's beautiful for evening!

- Fine for stargazing.

Beth, where's everybody?

The folks yelled, "Coming, Tommy?"

And I couldn't make it right then.

They left! Everybody's gone!

I got nothing to do.

Do it outside. Go on, get out!

Where is everybody? Town's deserted.

The Burdens had triplets last night.

The whole town went to see them.

I told Dad I'd keep the store.

- Kids. We ought to have a lot of them.

Yes.

- One every August.

See you tonight.

Whitey.

You wait outside.

Mister, can I hold your horse?

- Get away from here.

Is there anything you'd like to see?

Yeah. I wanna see what's

in the assayer's safe.

Both of 'em. The one over there too.

Yes. Yes, all right.

Hey, hey!

Vern! Vern!

I saw him come out the store.

Then the other one fired at me.

He shot at me, the fella with

the long white hair.

- White hair?

The one that stayed outside.

No.

Vern, I don't know how to tell you

this. She wasn't spared anything.

Jim... give me your gun.

Place was empty. Just a girl

in a store. Sure looked easy.

Could've been,

if you didn't chase petticoat!

- It's not your business.

The whole town'll be after us.

- Let's move. We're in this together.

Let's split it. I'm alone from here.

- We'll split it in Chuck-A-Luck.

The tracks lead south, Sheriff.

- It's Sioux country below here.

What of it? Let's go!

I didn't mind being deputised, but I

don't wanna be butchered by Indians.

I'm turning back.

- That's my feeling, Sheriff.

I got 50 head of cattle to brand tomorrow.

- Are you all gutless?

Come on, we're losing time.

- I've no authority past this stream.

There'll be a warrant out for him.

- What's his description?

What if she was your wife?

Or your daughter?

- This is as far as we go.

I'll follow him alone.

- Don't be a fool!

You're a raw hand with a gun.

- Never mind the advice.

You've all done your duty. Get home.

Tell everybody how brave you were.

Get drunk tonight.

I hope you have good dreams.

I had to do it, that's all,

I've told you a dozen times.

What are you driving at?

What are you after?

- I want my share now.

I said we split it at Chuck-A-Luck.

Keep quiet about the girl

when we get there.

Maybe I will, maybe I won't.

I'll do what I please.

Rattlesnake! Look out!

The man who was with you,

where is he?

The man who was with you,

where is he?

Water. Water.

- Talk, or you don't get a drop.

Where'd he head?

Where did he head?

Chuck-A-Luck. Chuck-A-Luck.

Chuck-A-Luck?

# Where and what is

Chuck-A-Luck, Chuck-A-Luck?

# Nobody knows

and the dead won't tell

# So on and on, relentlessly,

this man pursues his quest

# Through autumn and winter

# Searching the great South West

# This thing that drives him

like a whip will never let him rest

# Night and day, early and late,

he looks for a place

# Or a town or a face

# And deep within him burn the fires

of hate, murder and revenge! #

You're new around here, ain't you?

- Just passing through.

Did you ever hear of a place

called Chuck-A-Luck?

- Sure. Wheel of fortune.

They got one at the Royal Flush,

down the street.

Not gambling. You never heard of

any other Chuck-A-Luck?

- I ain't.

Why don't you try asking

over at the courthouse?

Barber, get another bowl of water.

- Water comes later...

I want it now.

- Sure. Excuse me.

Are you on the dodge?

- What of it?

I wouldn't talk about Chuck-A-Luck

so free if I were you.

- Why not?

Altar Keane wouldn't like it.

Where'd you hear about Chuck-A-Luck,

why are you asking about it?

I'm supposed to meet somebody there.

- Who?

- I don't know. It could be you.

Get back there, Barber!

- Yes, sir.

You don't know much,

but you're sure trying to learn!

How is he, Doc?

- He had lacerations and concussion.

His jugular vein was severed, he has

broken ribs and a fractured skull.

To put it briefly, he's real dead.

What makes you think he was an outlaw?

- The way he acted.

How do I know it was self-defence?

- I saw his gun!

It used to be the finest barbershop

west of Baxter's Bridge.

Could this be him?

There's something around the eyes.

Sure, that's him. That's him

before I shaved his handlebars.

"Wanted by the State of Texas

"for robbery of a stagecoach

out of El Paso, July 25, 1873.

"Reward, $300."

- July 25th?

- Yeah, July 25th.

He couldn't have been in

Wyoming early in August.

- No, he couldn't.

Apologies and congratulations.

The $300 is yours.

Sheriff, did you ever hear of

Chuck-A-Luck? A saloon? A password?

No, I never did. Here's your gun.

The reward - it'll be a few days.

Give it to the barber.

- That's sure kind of you.

You did our job. The least I can do

is buy you a drink.

- Wait a minute.

Did any of you ever hear of

someone called Altar Crane?

Altar Crane.

- It seems to me like I heard

of a name like that.

Or Altar Keane?

- Yeah, I remember.

If it's the person I'm thinking of,

the name is Keane, not Crane.

Altar Keane, yeah!

- What are you laughing at?

That name takes me back a long time,

when I was mining ore in a boom town.

Well, one night,

it was a horse race,

only I was one of the horses

and Altar Keane was my jockey.

One, two, three!

Come on, come on!

You can make it!

Get up, get up!

That's the only Altar Keane I know!

They only made one like her.

- What happened to her?

I never saw her after that.

- I've got to find her. Where would I look?

I heard she went to Virginia City.

Try some of the saloons.

She moved there with a girl

named Dolly, a good friend of hers.

I knew her well.

When I met Altar, she'd just come

from the Eastern Seaboard.

She was a singer, you know.

She sang only

in the most elegant places.

Loved horses.

Always had a pair of white horses.

And the men would all uncover

as she drove by.

The women?

The women would have been happy

for lightning to hit her.

Let me tell you the kind of girl

Altar was. Lots of men.

Sure, that's her privilege.

She shut the door on a cattle baron

if she had fancy for a cowpuncher.

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