The Lusty Men Page #3

He's a newcomer to the circuit.

An old friend of ours,

Jeff McCloud,

is traveling with Wes merritt,

teaching him the tricks

of the trade.

So let's watch

this boy merritt closely.

That's too much rein.

Shut up, will you?

Hey, red.

What are we hung on here?

Pass Wes merritt!

We move along now

to Pete mendoza

from Santa fe, new Mexico,

who's riding a horse

called April fool

out of chute number 18.

He's giving him a ride, folks!

Now, like I said, right here.

Forget about the crowd

now. Just relax.

Don't fight him.

Work with him.

It's like dancing with a girl,

only you let him lead.

We move now to chute number 1...

Wes merritt coming out

on high voltage.

Ok, let me have him!

Get after him, Wes!

Stay with him, Wes!

Good timing.

You know, he can

rope a little, too.

This boy will be a familiar

face on the circuit

from now on.

I rode him!

You might have

rode him right into some day money, too.

Next on our program

is calf roping,

an event against time.

Wes merritt

of big Springs, Texas,

who you just saw make

a fine saddle bronc ride,

is going to try his skill

in calf roping.

Wes merritt's time

is 14.2...

Which is good time

in any man's rodeo.

Our next calf roper

is Craig dunlap of Logan, Utah.

Sing hallelujah, honey!

I won two day moneys!

I could have gone

for the average, too, but I got bucked off.

Did you get hurt?

No, I bounced.

Smell it, honey.

Don't it smell sweeter

than all the roses?

$410. That's more

than 2 months' wages.

And I made it in two minutes.

There's more where

that come from.

As long as you didn't get hurt.

I wasn't even scratched.

I told you, I bounced.

I told rig we're

moving out tomorrow.

Moving out?

I'm going to rodeo.

Let me get this straight.

You quit?

We're leaving here?

Jeff and me figured it

out on the way back.

Everything he knows

about rodeoing, he'll teach me.

He'll help us get someplace.

How did Mr. McCloud

become an expert on getting someplace?

He took the same

shortcut you're planning to take.

Where did he wind up

18 years later?

You got him all wrong, honey.

He's doing me a big favor.

We'll split the money we win.

What's he going to win?

Split what you win, you mean.

Big-hearted

McCloud.

If he could still ride,

would he share it with you?

That ain't the point.

$400 for 2 minutes'

work, that's the...

If it was that easy,

every rodeo hand would be rich.

I want that ranch.

So do I, but what good's the ranch

going to be if you're crippled?

You got to have

as much guts as me.

How much money

can we save on what I make?

I'll be bent over double

before we save $5,000.

My old man spent his whole life

working for somebody else.

All he left behind was a big grocery bill

and a worn-out saddle.

Well, that ain't for me.

I know what I want,

and I know how to get it.

Jeff McCloud's

our big chance to do it!

You think McCloud's

a pretty great guy, don't you?

I want you to do

something for me.

If I can, sure.

Get this rodeoing

idea out of my husband's head.

Well, that's

a pretty large order.

You put the idea into his head,

you can get it out.

Can I?

That 400 bucks he won

really touched him off.

He thinks he can do

that good every day.

You know he can't.

You know he was lucky.

He's got his mind made up.

We've been doing good,

real good.

Don't let him throw it all away.

He'll listen to you.

Look, this rodeoing's

his idea, not mine.

Then don't go with him.

If you don't go, he won't go.

He's only trying to get

something he wants.

I want it, too,

but not that way,

not rodeoing.

How else is a cowhand

going to get it?

The only way a cowhand

can make real dough is rodeoing.

Wes is good. He'll make

a potful of money.

Of which you'll take half.

It'll still

leave him more than he'll make here

if he works all his life.

I just want to see

one guy in this world

get what he wants, that's all.

A pretty good deal

for you, wasn't it, latching on to Wes?

Latching on?

They tell me Wes found you

in a tamale joint.

They tell me anything's

better than working in a tamale joint,

even marriage.

I'm going to explain

something to you.

My folks were fruit pickers.

My pa was a drifter.

I grew up in tents and camps.

I never knew what

a pair of silk stockings was like

until I was 19.

We never had a house.

Got so I was always jealous

of people who lived in houses

and stayed in one place

and had somebody to love.

That's all I could

ever think about.

I picked Wes out to marry,

and I picked him real slow

and real careful.

And I didn't pick him

for the wild horses

he could ride

or gold belt buckles

he might win.

But if he

still wants to go in the morning,

I'm going with him,

because there's one thing

I'm not going to let you do,

and that's turn him

into a saddle tramp like yourself.

Redheads...

What gives a guy the idea

that redheads are any different?

All they got is bad tempers.

Wes?

Like I said,

as soon as we

get the ranch money together,

I quit.

Is it a deal?

It's a deal.

Well, what are we waiting for?

Come on, chico.

The barns are over that way.

And 20.

10 more.

Let's go ahead.

10 bucks.

That's a bet.

10 more for me.

Craps.

That cleans me out.

How about loaning me 50 bucks?

Sorry. Not today,

burgess.

What's the matter,

you scared you won't get it back?

Gracie said nobody

should loan you no more money.

Who you shooting craps

with, me or my wife?

I got to get

some shut-eye.

I'm roping this afternoon.

One thing I hate is a tightwad.

I'm quitting.

That's the last thing

you're about to do.

I'll cut that money loose!

Hey, hey, take it easy.

Hey, you're

kicking up a lot of dust, cowboy.

Today just ain't your lucky day.

You try the dice tomorrow.

It ain't the dice.

Thanks. He's been hitting

the bottle pretty hard.

A man shouldn't shoot crap

if he can't stand to lose.

Ain't that. He got gored

with a brahma in Cheyenne.

A horn caught him in the cheek.

I wasn't going to use it

unless I had to.

Think I'll lay down

a while before the show.

You're McCloud, ain't you?

Glad to see you.

Well, come on, Wes.

We better grain chico.

You hungry?

No. That's a terrible

scar he had.

Yeah. Brahmas

are pretty spooky.

A bronco will shake you

loose and then leave you,

but a bull will keep

right after you.

They're mean,

keep on getting meaner,

but the bulls that fight,

that's what people pay to see.

A cup of coffee

and a half-pound of raw hamburger!

Coffee don't

float a hammer, I ain't drinking it!

Rusty!

Either you're getting heavier,

or I'm getting weaker.

Once on the other side,

like in the good book.

Figured they ground you up

for dog food long ago.

No. The dogs took

one bite and quit.

Hiya, book.

I knowed you couldn't stay away.

He says in Cheyenne,

"that's all. I'm washed up."

This old crow bait's

going to be washed up

when he's holding flowers

on that fancy shirt

and the rodeo band's

playing soft and sweet.

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