"What are you doing there, fella?" "I'm just cut..." "Uh..." "You better come along with us." "Taking it off here, boss." "Yeah, take it off, Dragline." " Wiping it off here, boss." " All right, Koko, wipe it off." "Drinking it up here, boss." "All right, drink it up, Gambler." "Hey, Rabbitt, water him down." "All right, smoke it up!" "Yes, sir!" "You eyeballing there, Society?" "Checking my yo-yo, boss." "Drag." "Drag, new-meat bus." "That's a bunch." "Must be half a dozen new meat." "No more than five, for a cold drink." "You're on." "Babalugats, got a bet here." "All right, you men get lined up here." "Dog Boy, shut them dogs up." "They just smell new meat is all, boss." "What did they bring us today?" "Come on, come on, Blue." "Uh, Gibson, 507, manslaughter." "Good for a two spot." "It was an accident." "I've never been in trouble..." " Call the captain "captain."" " Edgar Potter 302 and resisting arrest." "One year." "I was trying to keep in out of the rain." "Get the wax out of your ears." "You call the captain "captain."" " Yes, sir." " And call the rest of us..." " ..."boss," you hear?" " Yes, boss." "This man is gonna make us proud of him, Mr. Hunnicutt." "Raymond Pratt." "Here, captain." "Breaking, entering and assault." "Five spot." "And a seaman." "Expect that should come in real handy around here, captain." "Maybe." " Lucas Jackson." " Here, captain." "Maliciously destroying municipal property while under the influence." "What was that?" "Cutting the heads off of parking meters, captain." "Mm." "We ain't never had one of them before." "Where did you think that's gonna get you?" "I guess you could say I wasn't thinking, captain." "Mm." "It says here that you did real good in the war." "A Silver Star, Bronze Star, couple of Purple Hearts." "Sergeant." "Then come out the same way you went in, buck private." "Like I was just passing time, captain." "Well, you got yourself some time now." "Two years." "Well, hell, that ain't much." "We got a couple of men here doing a 20 spot." "Uh, we got one that's got all of it." "We got all kinds, and you gonna fit in real good." "Of course, in case you get rabbit in your blood and you decide to take off for home you get a bonus of some time and a set of leg chains to keep you slowed down just a little bit." "Uh, for your own good." "You'll learn the rules." "Uh, it's all up to you." "Now, I can be a good guy or I can be one real mean son of a bitch." "It's all up to you." "All right, let's move it." "One at a time." "Move it." "Them clothes got laundry numbers on them." "Always wear the ones that has your number." "Any man forgets his number spends a night in the box." "These here spoons you keep with you." "Any man loses his spoon spends a night in the box." "No playing grab-ass or fighting in the building." "Got a grudge against another man, fight him Saturday afternoon." "Any man playing grab-ass or fighting spends a night in the box." "First bell is at 5 minutes of 8, when you will get in your bunk." "Last bell is at 8." "Any man not in his bunk at 8 spends the night in the box." "There is no smoking in the prone position in bed." "To smoke you must have both legs over the side." "Any man caught smoking in the prone position in bed spends a night in the box." "You get two sheets." "Every Saturday, put the clean sheet on the top the top on the bottom, bottom, turn in to the laundry boy." "Any man turns in the wrong sheet spends a night in the box." "No one will sit in the bunks with dirty pants on." "Any man with dirty pants on the bunks spends a night in the box." "Any man don't bring his empty bottle spends a night in the box." "Any man loud talking spends a night in the box." "You got questions, you come to me." "I'm Carr, the floor walker." "I'm responsible for order in here." "Any man don't keep order spends a night in the box." "I hope you ain't gonna be a hard case." " Eight." " Which sheet...?" " Nine." " Ten." "Twelve." "Ain't but four." "What did I tell you?" " You owe me a cold drink." " I owe you, I owe you." "Move it, sweetie." "Hey, any of you guys from Connecticut?" "Forget it." "Wash them up." "Wash them up." "Move." "Move." "Well, what are you still doing here?" "Get at them beans." "Move!" " Twenty-seven." " Twenty-seven." " Thirty-one." " Next time, you stay out of my place." "Try that again, I'll bounce you all over the floor." "I didn't know it was your special seat." "You don't take another man's seat." "It wasn't his fault." "Nobody said anything..." "You better mind your manners, boy." "You're acting like a hillbilly tramp." "Tramp." "There you go, beauty." "Hey, yeah, man, you got your bull-gang name now." "Yeah, well, it ain't no worse than some I've been called." " When I was in the Navy..." " All you new meats you gonna have to shape up fast and hard for this gang." "We got rules here." "In order to learn them, you gotta do more work with your ears than with your mouth." "Somebody say something?" "No, I didn't say nothing, boss." "What have we got there?" "You got a Lucas Jackson." "You don't have a name here until Dragline gives you one." "Maybe we ought to call it No-Ears." "You don't listen much, do you, boy?" "I ain't heard that much worth listening to." "Just a lot of guys laying down a lot of rules and regulations." " New meat looks like a poker player." " Come on, uh, bet that eight." "Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me none." "I know you got $5 pocket money." "That would buy you a whole fistful of cards." "You in or out?" "Out." "All right, come on, slip it to you, Drag." "Let's go." " Come on, Drag." " Dime." "First bell." "All right, break it up." " How'd you get that scar?" " What scar?" "Last bell." "Last bell." "I pray the Lord my soul to..." "Fifty, boss." "Right, Carr, 50." "Getting up here, Carr." "Enough." " Twenty-eight." " Twenty-nine." " Thirty." " Thirty-one." " Thirty-two." " Thirty-three." " Thirty-four." " Five." " Twenty-one." " Twenty-two." " Twenty-three." " Twenty-four." " Twenty-five." " Twenty-six." " Twenty-seven." " Twenty-eight." " Twenty-nine." " Thirty." " Thirty-one." " Thirty-two." " Thirty-three." " Thirty-four." " Thirty-five." " Thirty-six." "Get out of my eyeballing seat, you new-meat dummy." "I'm a salesman." "I used to drive these roads all the time." "Ah, Drag, it's gonna be one hot mother today." "Yeah, I reckon the bear's gonna be walking the road today." "Then I'm lucky I got me a broom." "I work on top, real cush job." "I would hate to be down in that ditch today." "We work in a ditch?" "Hey, what's the matter with you?" "All your bigtime driving around, you ain't never seen a chain gang before?" "Well, I ain't used to hard work neither." "I always tried to avoid it." "I ain't exactly crazy about it myself." "Well, men, it's gonna be one tough day to learn on." "Well, Koko, why don't you give one of these new meat a break and let him use your broom today?" "Oh, hell, Society, I ain't going down in that ditch." "I sure would appreciate it." "I ain't in too good a shape right now." "Hey, Koko, you really gonna sell your job?" "Well, Drag, I may have to." "Maybe that Lucas war hero would give you your price." "I'll give you 50 cents." "Fifty cents for a sweet job like that?" "That's worth at least a buck." "I'll make it a dollar." "Dollar's a deal." "Where did you get that about war hero?" "Well, a little birdie told me." "Tearing the heads off of, what was it?" "Gumball machines?" "What kind of thing is that for a grown man?" "Well, you know how it is." "Small town." "Not much to do in the evening." "Mostly was just settling an old score." "I made this arrangement with this man to take his broom." "Get to work." " But you don't understand." "I made this deal." " Get moving." "But I made this arrangement." "Unh!" "Get to work." "Hey, take it easy." "You won't last two hours." "Taking it off here, boss." "Yeah, Dragline, take it off there." "Take it off here, boss?" "Yeah, take it off there." "Drinking it up here, boss." "Man bear-clawed here, boss." "All right, men." "Let's eat them beans." "Cold drink he don't make it." "You on." "Hey, Babalugats, got a bet here." "Boss, drinking it up here." "All right." "Who's that?" "Boss Godfrey." "The walking boss." "Don't he ever talk?" "I think he just said something." "You owe that fella a cold drink." "All right." "You, Gibson, step out." "Boss Paul says you wasn't happy with your job." " Oh, no..." " That you was complaining." "Well, we're gonna give you a chance to think about it." " One of these fellas..." " All right." "Let's go." "Get them clothes off." "First bell." "Oh." "Plumb busted out." "Looks like the hard road finally got to Mr. Lucas War Hero." "I'll be back in the morning." "Just need a nap." "Man, I never thought they'd put him in the box on his first day." "It was only supposed to be a joke." "There ain't no brooms." "Well, can't expect to learn everything the first day." "It may have taught him a very valuable lesson." "You guys sure gave him all night to think about it." "We can't help it if he's square." "Huh, Drag?" "Of course not." "He ain't in the box because of the joke played on him." "He backsassed a free man." "They got their rules and we ain't got nothing to do with that." "Would probably happen to him sooner or later anyway, complainer like him." "He gotta learn the rules, same as anybody else." "Yeah, them poor old bosses need all the help they can get." "You trying to say something?" "You gotta flap your mouth..." "Last bell." "Last bell." "One of these days, I'm gonna flap me up some dust with it." "Forty-nine and one in the box, boss." "Right, Carr." "Forty-nine and one in the box." "Putting them on here, boss." "You see that, you see that?" "I got eyes, don't I?" "How am I not gonna see something that look like that?" "Man, oh, man, look at that, look at that." "Wiping it off here, boss." "Wipe it off, Gambler." " Taking them off here, boss." " All right, take it off." "Damn things is blocking the scenery." "Oh, man, oh, man, I'm dying, I'm dying." "Nice broad." "Great set." "Ooh, yeah." "Ooh, yeah." "Ooh." "Lucille." "Baby." "Oh, man, I'm dying." "I'm dying." "Look at that." "She ain't got nothing but one safety pin holding that thing on." "Come on, safety pin, pop." "Come on, baby, pop." "Hey, Lord, whatever I done don't strike me blind for another couple of minutes." "My Lucille." "Your Lucille?" "Boy, where do you get that?" "That's Lucille, you mullethead." "Anything so innocent and built like that just gotta be named Lucille." "Rub it, baby." "Clean that car." "Rub." "Rub." "God, she doesn't know what she's doing." "Oh, boy, she knows exactly what she's doing." "She's driving us crazy and loving every minute of it." "Shut your mouth about my Lucille." "Will you shut up, Babalugats?" " Leave him alone, he's happy." " That's because he's a damn moron." "Why don't you shut your mouth?" "Break it up!" "Come on, break it up!" "Lucille." "Lucille, Lucille, Lucille." "Lucille, Lucille, Lucille." "Getting up here, Carr." "Yeah." " Giddyup, Carr." " Yeah." "Up here, Carr." "Yeah." "Getting up here, Carr." "No." "Full house." "Oh, man, that little Lucille." "She was really a big lot of little gal, wasn't she?" "Did you see how she was just about popping out of the top of that dress?" "Come on, Drag, cut it out." "And down below man, that thing didn't reach no higher than..." "She's liable to catch cold running around like that." "It was stretched so tight across her bottom I do believe I saw one of them seams bust loose." "And the opening got wider and wider and wider." "Forget it, man." "What you mean, forget it?" "Stop beating it into the ground." "You ain't doing nobody no good." "Okay, new meat." "You get some sleep." "And save your strength because you gonna need it." "Tomorrow." " Get up." " Come on, get him, Drag." " Come on." " Come on." "Right there." "That's it." "Hit him." "Hit him." "Drag, finish him." "Finish him off, Drag." " Go get him." " Nice shot, Drag." "Stay away from him." " Come on." " Get in there." " You've still got a chance." " Come on." " Come on." " That's it, Luke." "Stay down, Luke." "It's a big one." "It's a big one." " Come on, Luke." " Come on, get him." "Harder, Drag, harder." "Come on, Luke." "Come on, Luke." "Why don't you stay down, Luke?" "He's just gonna knock you down again." "It's not your fault, he's just too big." "Let him hit you in the nose and get blood flowing." "Maybe the bosses will stop it." "I don't wanna frighten him." " Stay down, Luke." " That's the end of it." " Come on." " Don't get up." "Stay down, Luke." "He's gonna kill you." "Stay down." "Ooh." "Somebody ought to stop this thing." "Stay down." "You're beat." "You're gonna have to kill me." "All right, pot's right." "Here we go." "King gets a three." "Queen, deuce." "Seven." "Pair of Savanahs right here." "Deuce gets a four, no help." "And the three gets big ace." " Bet the Savanahs." " Cuter." " Out." " Out." "I call." "Kick a buck." " A dollar?" " What?" "One time." "All right, I'll call." "Well, if I catch one, I'm gonna burn you." "I'll call." "King, three, you got a four." "Queen, deuce gets a five." "And a pair of sevens gets a john." "And the big ace gets slop in the face." "Okay, you still do the talking." "Cuter again." "I call." " Kick a buck." " Oh." "Start asking." " What you got?" " Pair of sevens." "I can see that, mullethead." "What you got in the hole?" "He ain't got nothing showing." "Raise his head off." " He's been betting his head since..." " All right, then you just call him." "I'll call." "You gotta see it, Gambler, come on." " Yeah, you gotta." " I can't." "I can't catch it." "I'm snakebit, can't catch." "I fold." "King, four, three." "You got a nine." "Nothing visible." "Pair of sevens and a jack gets a six." "Savanahs, you still the better man." "Cuter." "I'm beat there, who knows?" " Doesn't have." " Mm-hm." " Kick a buck." " Kick a buck." "Kick him back a buck." "All right, I'll see your buck and back a buck." " Oh, boy." " It's only a bet." " Kick a buck." " Damn." "Don't look at me, mullethead." "Well, come on." "What you gonna do, play like a coconut?" "You got to call him in it." "I know he's got a pair of kings, you don't have to stuff up my nose." "You still gotta call him anyway." " You gotta." " You gotta look at them." "The man's got kings, get your tail out." " Yeah." " Now you got him." " You wanna see them?" " Yeah." "Right there." "One two, three, four, five." " Yeah, yeah." " Yeah." " No." "Wiped out, right?" "Nothing." "A handful of nothing." "You stupid mullethead, he beat you with nothing." "Just like today when he kept coming back at me." "With nothing." "Yeah, well sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand." "Hmm." "Move over." "I'm gonna sit in here next to my boy." "Cool Hand Luke." "Deal." "All right, I'm in this next." "Hey, Loudmouth." "Come on, get up there." " You mama's waiting for you." " Oh, yeah?" "She never leaves me alone." "Be glad you got somebody, kid." "Luke, visitor for you." "Come on, Ma." "Coming out here, boss." "Come on out, Luke." "How'd you find me?" "Oh, well, that Helen, she sent your things along with a note and then John here, he wrote to the police." " Yeah?" " Heh-heh." " Come." " Go around here, boss?" "Well, Arletta, I gotta stay here." "Well..." "I always hoped to see you well-fixed have me a crop of grandkids to fuss around with." "I'd like to oblige you, but, uh right off, I don't know where to put my hands on them." "Yeah." "Well, you know, sometimes I wish the people was like dogs, Luke." "Comes a time, a day like when the bitch just don't recognize the pups no more so she don't have no hopes, nor love to give her pain." "She just don't give a damn." "They letting you smoke here?" "Smoking it up here, boss." "You done your best, Arletta." "What I done with myself is my own problem." "No, no, it ain't, Luke." "You ain't alone." "Everywhere you go, I'm with you." "And John too." "You never thought maybe that's a heavy load?" "Oh." "Why, we always thought you was strong enough to carry it." "Was we wrong?" "I don't know." "Things just never the way they seem, Arletta." "You know a man's gotta go his way." "Guess I just gotta..." "Gotta love you and let go." "Hmm?" "Yeah, I guess." "Well, I ain't asking what you gonna do when you get out because I'll be dead and it don't matter." "You never did wanna live forever." "I mean, it wasn't such a hell of a life." "Oh." "I had me some high old times." "Your old man, Luke, he wasn't much good for sticking around but, damn it, he made me laugh." "Yeah, I would've liked to have known him the way you talk about him." "He'd have broke you up." " Luke?" " Yeah, Ma?" "What went wrong?" "Nothing." "Everything's cool as can be." "No." "Arletta, I tried." "I mean, to live always free and aboveboard like you but I don't know, I just can't seem to find no elbow room." "Oh." "Now..." "You always had good jobs." "And that girl in Kentucky." "Oh." "I'd taken a shine to her." "She sure took off." "With that convertible fella." "Well, why not?" "Idea of marrying got you all bollixed up." "Trying to be respectable." "You was boring the hell out of all of us." "I'm leaving the place to John." "That's good, he earned it." "Ain't nothing to do with it." "I just..." "I just never give John the kind of, you know, feeling that I give you." "So I'm gonna pay him back now." "Oh, don't feel you have to say anything." "That's the way it is, you see." "Sometimes you just have a feeling for a child." "Else and you don't." "With John, I just didn't." "I've gotta go, Arletta." "Yep." "Well, laugh it up, kid." "You'll make out." "Uncle Luke?" "Why can't you have chains?" "John-Boy, let me tell you something." "You know, them chains ain't medals." "You get them for making mistakes." "And you make a bad enough mistake, and then you gotta deal with the man." "And he is one rough old boy." "Okay?" "So long, Arletta." "Take care." "You know it, kid." "Now there ain't nothing to come back for." "All right." "This gang been doing so good the captain decided to give you something special." "You got yourselves a whole road of tarring to do." "And I wanna see you roll it." "Pick up your shovels." "Get with it." "Move." "Bear is sure gonna be walking the road today." " Hey, what's the deal?" " Man, you think you been working hard?" "This mother's gonna break your back." "Let's roll." "Let's see those shovels." "All right, roll it." "I'm going to twist my arm off if it don't kill me first." "Right, boss?" "Hey, buddy, slow down." "That's a long road." "Yeah." "Well the man wants speed, let's just give it to him." "Cram it in and break it off." "Hyah." "Go hard." "Hyah." "What are we racing for?" " Wants speed, let's give it to him." " All right." "Use that shovel like it was your spoon." "Shag it, man." "Go, man." "Hyah." "Get the man, boy, get the man." "Moving it up here, boss." "Moving it up here, boss." "Go, shag." "Moving it up here, boss." "Now, you tell me, Rabbitt, what's going on here?" "I don't know, boss." "I think they're all bear-clawed." "They don't know whether to smile, spit or swallow." "Yeah, well, they never seen a bull gang before." "Where'd the road go?" "That's it." "That's the end of it." "Man, there's still daylight." "About two hours left." "What do we do now?" "Nothing." "Oh, Luke, you wild, beautiful thing." "You crazy handful of nothing." ""As Carol pressed her lips to him his right hand started a slow descent down her silken body." "Desire and fear, temptation and terror yearning and horror warred within her beautiful young body."" "You have to close those things or we'd drown." "It's suffocating here." "Go on, Kok." "Talk about drowning." "When I was in the Navy I was on submarine duty once, and you get down there..." "Will you tell your story walking, huh?" "It's too hot." "Do you see my skinny little boy chow tonight?" "He was matching you plate for plate." "I wasn't feeling good." "I think I got an ulcer or something." "He had a bigger spoon." "Make you look like yours had a hole in it." " Aw, come on, Clarence." " What do you mean, Clarence?" "You calling me a liar?" "No, not a liar." "You just have a common and likable tendency toward exaggeration." "Ho, ho, ho." "That there's the champion hog gut of this camp." "Hell, I've seen him eat 10 chocolate bars and seven cold drinks in 15 minutes." "He can eat busted bottles and rusty nails, any damn thing." "If you be so kind to let me cut off your Yankee head, he'll even eat that." "I can eat 50 eggs." " Nobody can eat 50 eggs." " You just said he could eat anything." "You ever eat 50 eggs?" "Nobody ever eat 50 eggs." "Hey, Babalugats, we got a bet here." "My boy says he can eat 50 eggs, he can eat 50 eggs." "Yeah, but in how long?" " An hour." " Well, I believe I'll take part of that wager." " Two dollars, going to Koko." " Come on, let's talk some money." " All right, $20." "Anything." " More like it." "The syndicate will cover any bet you wanna make." " Koko, get some paper." " Drag." "Fifty eggs gotta weigh a good 6 pounds." "Man's gut can't hold that." "They'll swell up and bust him open." " You gonna kill him." " All right, get your money up." "Gambler, Dynamite, get it up." "Kokonut-head's gonna take the money." "Come on." "Get it up." "Wait just a minute." "How's he going to eat?" "Boiled for 15 minutes, eat the thing in an hour." "One rule." "No throwing up." "He throws up, you forfeit everything." "Now, when was the last time you ever saw my boy throw up?" "Now, shut your mouth and give your money to Koko." "Come on, now, right over here." "Luke, what did you have to say 50 for?" "Why couldn't you say 35 or 39?" "It seemed a nice round number." "Luke, that's money you're talking about." "What's the matter with you?" "Yeah, well, it'll be something to do." " Ten." " Ten, right." "What'd I do?" "I stole and I told lies." "Keep your left up." "But I loved my neighbor and his wife." "They'll never make it." "Wait a second." "What we gotta do is stretch that little old belly of yours." "Do it, man." "Get all this stuff out of the way of them eggs coming down." "What do you think?" "We gotta get it all in fighting shape like a barrage balloon." "Ready?" "And go." "Hey, boss." "Man needs a brown bomber and a dose of salts." "Nobody said nothing about that." "Man's got a right." "You can't do that." "He's got a right." "It's nature." " I want my money back." " No money back." " What are you worried about?" " Nothing was ever said about it." "I don't care." "Twenty of those wouldn't make any difference." "What are you worried about?" "He can't do it." " We get our money..." " Shh." "Shh." " What's he doing?" " Shh." "Gotta get it." " Look at those eggs." " Yeah." "All right, stand back, you pedestrians." "This ain't no automobile accident." " All 50 of them?" " Move over, losers." " I got money riding here." " Somebody count them." " Count them." " I got it figured." "Eats an egg a minute, he's got 10 minutes left." "What are you, a scientist?" "Hey, I just sent 5 bucks from a rodeo outfit." " What for?" " Last bull I fell off of." " Hey, you're peeling his eggs." " That's right, Mr. Alibi." "He peels his eggs himself." "That's understood." "Now, you may be just great at hanging paper around the big city and passing bad checks, but us country boys ain't entirely brainless." "When it come to the law, nothing is understood." "Wait a minute." "Wait a minute." "Who made what law about peeling the eggs?" " Society's right." " I'm his trainer." "I'm the syndicate covering all bets." "And I'm his official egg peeler." "That's the law." "Wait a minute, wait a minute." "Just wait till the hour starts..." " ...that's all." " Yeah." " I was banking on him peeling them." " He can't even..." " First it was the salt..." " Shh." "What's going on?" "All right." "You ready, champ?" "Ready?" "Go." "One." "Two." "Three." "Man, he's gonna lose a finger eating eggs like that." "Twenty-four." "Twenty-five." "Slow down a little." "Twenty-six." "Forget it, he's wasting time." "What's the exercise?" " What's he doing?" " That's tapioca." " You better forget it." " I'll take any bets." "Anybody." "Three more." "Thirty-two." " He's got 18, and half the time." " What's wrong?" " I think he's gonna throw up." " Oh, no." " That's it, he's finished." " That's all." " Come on, Luke." " Eighteen to go." " You'll feel better." " Straighten out, Luke." " Give me a piece of paper." " He's finished." "Just like a ripe watermelon what's about to bust itself open." "Your boy's done for, Drag." "I'll put in my last tenner." " He don't look good, Drag." " Man's gut can't hold more." "Right, Drag, you gonna come crawling around asking me for a drink." "Go." "You'll feel better." " You'll feel better." " Okay, Luke." "Imagine how well you'd feel." " He's all right." " He's gonna make himself sick." " Is he...?" " Oh." "Yeah." "He's all right." " He's all right." " Attaboy." "That's a boy." "Drag, if I give you a dollar and he don't eat all 50 eggs, I get $2 back." "Oh, Fixer, you is a sweet old boy." "You better take that dollar and buy yourself a new spark plug or something." "But as long as you done took a stand why don't you put money where your mouth is, not no measly buck?" "Well, all I got is 3.75, Drag." "That's a bet." "Koko." "All right now, the rest of you, I wanna hear from some big money men." "Where's all the high rollers?" "I believe you've got it all, Dragline." "Every cent in camp is riding." "Is he all right?" " Rabbitt, five." " Thirty-three." " Come on." " Carr, what's the time?" "Come on, my baby." " Come on, my darling." " Twenty-four minutes to go." "Just let that little old belly sag and enjoy yourself." " Stretch it out." "Chin up, boy." " Thirty-nine." "Okay, going down into the tummy." "Twenty-four minutes, he'll never make it." " Tramp." " I have $5." "He ain't getting better." "Forty-one." "Stay loose, buddy." "Just nine more between you and everlasting glory." " Is he eating them, Alibi?" " He's chewing, look at that." "Just little old eggs." "They're pigeon eggs, that's all." "Fish eggs, practically." "How much more time, Carr?" "Six minutes to go, Stevie." " Come on." " Come on, come on." " Chew, chew, chew." " You're helping him chew now." " I'm not." " Leave him alone." " That does it." " Forty-two." " He's not spitting them out." " What are you so happy about?" " Tiny, tiny eggs." " He's slowing down." " Slowing down." " Attaboy, chew, chew." " Here we go, boy." " He says it's 43." "Two minutes to time." "Here comes another one." "Here comes another one, baby." " All right." " Luke." "Luke." "Ooh, there you go." "Forty-four." "All right now, get mad at them damned eggs." "Eat it there, boy." "Chew on it." "Gnaw on it." "Here comes another one down the hatch." " Thirty seconds." " That's it, baby." " Here comes the last one." " Stuff it in there." "Jam it down in there, get it in." "That's the last one in there now." " He's gotta swallow it all." " Don't help him chew." "He's gotta swallow it before time's up." " Ten, nine..." " Get it down there." " ..." "Eight, seven, six, five..." " Get it down." "Get it down there." " Swallow it now." " ...four, three, two one, zero." "He did it." "Hold it." "He didn't swallow the last." " No, he didn't swallow." " You think so, huh?" "Well, just take a look here." "Open that mouth." "Yes, sir." "That's my baby." "Yes, sir." "Nobody can eat 50 eggs." " Snake in the grass here, boss." " Get it." "Get it." "Picking it up here, boss." "Hey, boss, forgot your walking stick." "Man, you sure can shoot." "Luke." "You gone too far when you mess with the Man-With-No-Eyes." "You gonna be out of here in a little bit." "Why don't you take it a little easy?" "All right, everybody in the trucks." "Boy, look at him go." "Bam!" "Bam!" "Just knock it off, Luke." "You can't talk about him that way." "You still believe in that big bearded boss up there?" " You think he's watching us?" " Get in here." "Ain't you scared?" "Ain't you scared of dying?" "Dying?" "Boy, he can have this little life any time he wants to." "You hear that?" "Huh?" "You hear it?" "Come on." "You're welcome to it, old-timer." "Let me know you're up there." "Come on." "Love me, hate me, kill me, anything." "Just let me know it." "Just standing in the rain talking to myself." "Blind Dick is paying back 3 and borrowing 5." "Next." " You borrowing or paying back?" " Borrowing." "Well, Mr. Cool Hand here is the soft heart in our loan department." "I just need 5, Luke." "Ha." "I knew you could really eat all them egg." "Yeah, well, I didn't." "Hey, Carr." "That's my darling Luke." "He grin like a baby, but he bites like a gator." " Next." " Thank you." "I, uh, believe I still owe you 30." "I don't suppose you'd care to take a check?" "Luke." "For you." "His mother's dead." "Alibi." "Luke, fall out." "When a man's mother dies and, uh, he gets to thinking about her funeral and paying respects, before he knows it his mind ain't right." "He's got rabbit in his blood and he runs." "We keeping you off the road for a while." "I'm gonna say a prayer for your ma, Luke." "Sorry, Luke." "I'm just doing my job." "You gotta appreciate that." "No." "Calling it your job don't make it right, boss." "Twenty-one." " Twenty-two." " Three." "Twenty-four." "Twenty-five." "Twenty-six." "Twenty-seven." " Twenty-eight." " Twenty-nine." " Thirty." " Thirty-one." "Thirty-two." "Moving it up here, boss." "Move it up." " Four." " Four." "Five." " Six." " Seven." " Eight." " Nine." " Ten." " Eleven." " Twelve." " Thirteen." "Your ma is in the ground now, God rest her soul." "You best forget about it, Luke." "Got a day and a half lay in." "Tomorrow's a holiday." "Happy Fourth of July." "Same to you." "All right." "Break it up, break it up." "Come on, you've had your fun." "First bell." "Move it, move it, Stevie." "Hey, Carr." "Carr, come here." "What do you got, another one of them dirty books, Drag?" "Do yourself a favor." "Read this part that Koko underlined for me." ""She moved her head another inch while he reached up and put his left hand on Carol's..." "As Carol pressed her..."" "Oh, I can't stand it." "You're just coming to the interesting part now." "Yeah, go ahead." "Go on." "Go on." ""Sleek trembling body..."" "I can't hear you." " "Her trembling body..." " Yeah." "...shivered under his..."" "All right, all right." "Last bell." "Last bell." " Move it." " Hey, Carr." "What's that noise outside?" "There he is." "Man on the fence, boss." "Got him." "Aah!" "Aah!" " Get him down." " Yeah." " Hit him." " Aah!" "Aah!" "Wait a minute, damn it." "Blue." "Come back here, damn it." "Blue, come back, damn it." "You..." "Blue, baby." "Forty-eight, boss." "One in the box, one in the bush." "Forty-eight." "One in the box, one in the bush." "Oh, listen to Blue sing." "He's onto him, he says." "He's got him." "Hell, that dog's running around in circles." "No, he's onto him." "Captain says for us to wait until the patrol gets in." "Should have waited for me to get him out." "Loose like that, he can run him crazy." "Didn't even have sense to run from the road like everybody else." "Oh, I'm beat." "This ain't my job no how." " Your dogs are crazy." " He keeps crisscrossing." "He's smarter than a dog." "Let's go." "He made it." "Look, captain." "Look what he done to Blue." "He's dead." "He's dead." "He run himself plumb to death." "Up here, boss." "Bring it up." "Mr. Hunnicutt." "Get in line facing the captain." "You gonna get used to wearing them chains after a while, Luke." "But you never stop listening to them clinking." "Because they gonna remind you of what I been saying for your own good." "I wish you'd stop being so good to me, captain." "Don't you ever talk that way to me." "Never." "Never." "What we've got here is failure to communicate." "Some men you just can't reach." "So you get what we had here last week, which is the way he wants it." "Well, he gets it." "And I don't like it any more than you men." "Well, lookie here." "I knew they'd get you." "Them chains are a bonus of couple of years." "Your running days is over forever, boy." "Hell, I'd like to see you try to run again." "Now, you know, you getting so you smell so bad I could track you myself." "Yeah, well, that ought to be easy for a genuine son of a bitch." "What happened?" "How far did you get?" "Shut up and let him eat." "About a mile and a half." "This supermarket parking lot found a car with keys in the ignition." "Hit this red light and this police car slides up alongside." "Then what did you do?" "Waited for that light to change." "This cop kept looking, wondering what somebody looks like me dressed in state issue, was doing driving a shiny new buggy." "Then what did he do?" "He leaned over and said, "Hey."" "It's top-flight police work, that's all there is to it." "Fella's probably a lieutenant by now." "Well, then we're just gonna lay low and build time." "Before you know it, the heat's gonna be off of you." "Everything will be right back where it was." "Right, sweet buddy?" "Hmm." "I hear tell you don't believe in no God, Luke." "I was wondering how come a nice, clean-cut young fella like you gets put on the hard road." "Now I reckon I knows." "I've been on the road gang almost 22 year." "In all that time, I ain't never killed no white man, but I ain't afeard to, because..." "Excuse me, boss, don't mean to interrupt." "Caught short here." "It's all right." "It's okay." "You just go on out there behind them trees." "Man's gotta have his privacy sometime." "You just keep shaking that bush so we know you're there." "Just keep shaking that bush." "Yes, boss." "Shaking it up here, boss." "Shaking it up here." "Still shaking it, boss." "Still shaking it." "I'm shaking it, boss." "Damn." "He's gone." "Get the dogs." "What you got them on for?" "How do you take your pants off?" "Well, best way is to get rid of them leg irons." " But you ain't strong enough." " Strong enough for what?" " Well, you couldn't heft an axe." " Can too." " I bet you can't." " Can too." " Bet you can't." " Can too." " I bet you can't." " Can." "Well, then, go get it, man." " What's your name, boy?" " Ben." "Ben, huh?" "Aren't you gonna take those stripes off your pants?" "You know it, kid." " You wanna see something real funny?" " Yeah." "Well, you go in there and you get me, uh chili powder and pepper and curry and the like." "Lot of it, all right?" "You better let me handle that, son." "Here they are." "Thank you, son." " What's the matter with him?" " He'll be all right." "Hey, boy, boy." "Now, listen, you gonna have some fun." "You hear that?" "Remember how them dogs do when they come through so you can tell me about it someday, okay?" "Stevie." "My wife hasn't written for a month." " She's probably sick again." " You don't know that." "Here you go." " Drag." " Yeah." "Magazine for you." " Carr, you got anything?" " Magazines?" "Hey, Koko, who's sending me magazines?" "Hey, Dynamite." " It's from Atlanta." " Steve, give me one." "My uncle." "Ain't heard from him in eight years and now he's sending me magazines?" "He must have gone crazy." "Look at that." "Oh, look at that." " That's Luke." " Look at that, two of them." " I'm dying, I'm dying." " My, my, my." "What's the writing say?" "What's that writing say?" ""Dear boys, playing it cool, Luke."" "Let me take a look." "Come here." " Hey, pass it around." " Hey, Stevie, come on." "Can I see that?" "What are you...?" "They must be 6 feet tall." " Look at that." " Let me see it." " Hey, stupid." " Come on." "Give that back here." " Let me see that." " Look at it, Drag." "Look at that." "My baby." "We're in here digging and dying, he's out there living and flying." " One." " Two." " Three." " Four." " Five." " Six." " Seven." " Eight." "Koko, will you stop that?" "Why don't you try making me?" "Oh." "Hey, Drag?" " Let me see the picture." " What for?" "Come on, Drag, let us see the picture." "Now, you just a kid." "What you know about it?" " You don't wanna see that dirty picture." " Yeah." " Luke and them broads and all that booze." " Come on, let me take a look." "It'd go to your coconut head." "You liable to get ideas and pass out." "Oh, come on, Dragline." "Be a buddy." "Now, what you figure it's worth?" "A peek at that there picture?" "A quick look now, I'm not talking about no memorizing job." " Cold drink." " A Coke?" "One cold drink to feast your starving, fishy little eyes on the picture?" "A true vision of paradise itself with two of the angels right there." " Frisking around with my boy?" " A cold drink, okay?" " I'll go half." " Okay, it's a deal." " One cold drink, in advance." " All right, here." "One chilly bottle right in my hot hand." "That goes for the rest of you mulletheads too." " Let me see." " Come on, let's see." " Hang on, did you pay?" " Yeah." " Signal." " Oh, look at that." "Coming in there, Wicker Man." "You run one time, you got yourself a set of chains." "You run twice, you got yourself two sets." "You ain't gonna need no third set, because you gonna get your mind right." "And I mean right." "Take a good look at Luke." "Cool Hand Luke?" " Here." " Here." "Careful." " Easy, easy, easy." " Let him breathe." "Baby broke up in there." "Oh, my poor baby." "They done you real good." "I don't know if you'll have gals chasing you." " I'll get aspirin." " Half killed him." "He should have a doctor." " They ain't gonna let doctors see." " Ice'll take that swelling down." "Get your razor." "We'll clean up some of these cuts on his head." "Hey, buddy." "How you feeling, buddy?" " How you feeling?" " He can't hear you." "Give him something cold to drink." " Here." " That's my baby, that's my baby." " Hey, he's gonna be all right." " Yeah." "Hey, Luke, Luke." "Hey, look." "Look, we got the picture you sent us." "It's shaking right up here, boss." "You really can pick them, Luke." "Come on, come on, tell us." "What were they like?" " Can't you wait until he stops bleeding?" " Go back to your knitting." " Oh, knock it off, you guys." " Picture's a phony, cost me a week's pay." " A phony, what do you mean a phony?" " What you talking about, man?" "We've seen the women in the picture." "Hey, Luke, did you have them both at once?" "I mean, together?" "Picture's a phony." "I had it made up for you guys." "What do you mean?" "We saw it all." " Champagne." " You was having a good time." "You had it made." "Nothing." "Made nothing, had nothing." "A couple of towns, couple of bosses." "I laughed out loud once, he turned me in." " But I got it here." " Oh, come on!" "Stop beating it." "Get out there yourself." "Stop feeding off me!" "Get out of here!" "Can't breathe, give me some air." "Well, he ain't hisself, can't you see that?" "He's all beat up." "He don't know what he's saying." "All right, come on." "Come on, break it up." "Now, straighten out that bench." "Come on." "You was eyeballing." "Can't get your mind on them weeds if you're eyeballing." "You don't need reasons to kick me, boss." "Uh-huh." "First bell." "Move it." " He'll never make it." " What are you talking about?" "That old box will collapse and fall apart before Luke calls it quits." "Your Luke's got more guts than brains." " Well, I don't see no sign of guts in you." " No." " No chains either." " Big deal, passing two-bit checks." "You haven't had much luck playing follow-the-leader, have you?" "Cut it out, cut it out." "All right, last bell." "Last bell." "Do you wanna spend the night in the box too?" "Well, here's our champion hog gut." "Ain't ate for four days." "You gonna need a little extra." "Got plenty for you." "Now, you know the rules." "Gotta clean your plate or go back in the box." "Right, boss?" "That's enough, Dog Boy." "Man used to free-world food has got a big appetite." "We gonna stretch that hog belly right out, huh?" "All right, let's go." "One." "Two." " Three." " Four." "Five." " Six." " Seven." "Glad you made the week, boy." "Now you got a day and a half to rest up for old Monday." "Luke." "That ditch is Boss Keen's ditch." "I told him that dirt in it's your dirt." "What's your dirt doing in his ditch?" "I don't know, boss." "You better get in there and get it out, boy." "Luke, what'd you think you doing?" "Just getting my dirt out of Boss Keen's ditch, boss." "I'll be damned if you're gonna put your dirt in my yard." "You hear me?" "Now, let's get it out of there." "I told you to get your dirt out of Boss Keen's ditch, didn't I?" " Yeah, boss." " Then how come it ain't out?" "I don't know, boss." "You don't know." "What's all this dirt doing in here?" "I don't know." "Fight!" " Don't, boss." " Get to work." "Don't, boss." "Don't hit me anymore." "For God's sake, don't hit me anymore." "What was that you said?" "What was that name you used, Luke?" "Oh, God." "Oh, God." "Oh, God." "I pray to God you don't hit me anymore." "I'll do anything you say, but I can't take anymore." "You got your mind right, Luke?" "Yeah." "I got it right." "Oh." "I got it right, boss." "Suppose you was to backslide on us?" "Oh, no, I won't." "I won't, boss." "Suppose you was to backsass?" "No, I won't, I won't." "I got my mind right." "You try to run again, we gonna kill you." "I won't." "I won't, boss." "Go get cleaned up and get yourself some sleep." "I expect you need it." "Come on, son." "Come on up out of there." "Coming in, boss." "I got my mind right." "Where are you?" "Where are you now?" "All right, smoke it up." "Yes, sir." "Luke, water them down." "Yes, boss." "Picking it up here, boss." "Luke, fetch the rifle." "You got him, boss." "You got him." "Go fetch it, Luke." "Heh-heh." "There he is, boss." "Deader than hell but won't let go." "You cut that up for our lunch, Luke." "Yes, sir, Boss Paul." "He took the keys off of Dog Boy's truck." "He got the keys here too." "I'm shaking it here, boss." "I'm shaking it." "That's my baby, Luke." "Don't hit me, boss." "Don't hit me." "I'll do whatever you say, only don't hit me." "Ha, ha." "You're an original, that's what you are." "Them mulletheads didn't even know you was fooling." "Fooling them, huh?" "You can't fool them about something like that." "They broke me." "But they didn't get my mind right." "Not with no stick, no, sir." "All that time you was planning on running again." "I never planned anything in my life." "That's just a little old farm road." "Clean as a whistle." "I worked it a couple of times." "We're home free, come on." " We ain't going nowhere." " Now, what you talking about, Luke?" "We going by my house and we gonna have a big meal." "Then I'm gonna show you a couple of farm girls that really knows what for." "And then we gonna get Koko out of there." "And then the terrible trio are gonna be complete again." "Man, this old free world ain't gonna know which ear to stand on." "Yeah, well, you and Koko can handle it without me." "What you mean, Luke?" "I've done enough world-shaking for a while." "You do the rest of it for me." "Send me a postcard about it." " But, Luke..." " Take it easy, Drag." " Where you going?" " Just on my own." "What am I gonna do all by myself?" "Man, if I hadn't lost my head, I only had a couple of years to do." "But when I saw you tearing down the road in that truck..." "Well, you're right, Luke." "We ought to split up." "Then..." "And then it'd be safer for the both of us." "Luke." "Just the same, you're a good old boy, Luke." "You take care." "You hear?" "Anybody here?" "Hey, old man, you home tonight?" "Can you spare a minute?" "It's about time we had a little talk." "I know I'm a pretty evil fella." "Killed people in the war and I got drunk and chewed up municipal property and the like." "I know I got no call to ask for much but even so, you gotta admit you ain't dealt me no cards in a long time." "It's beginning to look like you got things fixed so I can't never win out." "Inside, outside, all them rules and regulations and bosses." "You made me like I am." "And just where am I supposed to fit in?" "Old man, I gotta tell you." "I started out pretty strong and fast." "But it's beginning to get to me." "When does it end?" "What do you got in mind for me?" "What do I do now?" "All right." "All right." "On my knees, asking." "Yeah, that's what I thought." "I guess I'm pretty tough to deal with, huh?" "A hard case?" "Yeah." "I guess I gotta find my own way." "Luke." "That's your answer, old man?" "I guess you're a hard case too." "Luke, you all right?" "They got us, boy." "They're out there, thicker than flies." "Bosses, dogs, sheriffs and more guns than I've ever seen in my life." "You ain't got a chance." "They caught up with me right after we split up." "And they was aiming to kill you." "But I fixed it." "I got them to promise if you give up peaceful they ain't even gonna whip you this time." "They even gonna give us our same bunks back, huh?" "Sure, why not?" "We only been gone a couple of hours." "They're reasonable men." "Yeah, well." "Luke, you gotta listen to me." "All you've got to do is give up." "Nice and quiet." "Just play it cool." "Yeah, like I always do, huh?" "Yeah, just play it." "Luke, what you doing?" "What we got here, is a failure to communicate." "Luke." "Luke." "Well, go get them." "Aah!" "Brake it up." "Break it up!" "He'll kill him!" "You hang on in there, Luke." "You hang on." "There's gonna be some world-shaking, Luke." "We gonna send you a postcard." "You follow me and I'll radio the emergency clinic to open up." "I'm taking him to the prison hospital." "That's an hour away." "He isn't gonna make it." "Get out of the way." "He's ours." "They took him right down that road." " What did he look like, Drag?" " Yeah, what did he look like?" "Did he have his eyes open or closed, Drag?" " He was smiling." " Smiling?" "That's right." "You know, that Luke smile of his." "He had it on his face right to the very end." "If they didn't know it before they could tell right then that they weren't ever gonna beat him." "That old Luke smile." "Oh, Luke." "He was some boy." "Cool Hand Luke, hell." "He's a natural-born world-shaker."