THE ROUND-UP 



Caldwell knows he is up against it and watches every 

 movement like a cat. He impatiently motions, says 

 something, and the wranglers turn Long Tom's head 

 a bit more to the southwest toward the grandstand. 

 It is "direction," Caldwell is thinking, that which will 

 head him just between the judges. He believes he can 

 "scratch hell" out of Long Tom. He wants no doubt 

 in the judges' mind, as to what he is doing. There is a 

 bit of a struggle, then Lee snaps out a curt order. He 

 does not want the horse frightened. There is a differ- 

 ence between frightening a horse and getting him mad ; 

 frightening him has a tendency to make him blunder 

 in his own movements, because, as Lee said once "A 

 horse like Long Tom does a lot of thinking." 



Everyone knows Caldwell is tremendously high 

 strung, trained so to the minute that a mere nothing 

 can set him off the handle; but Allen Drumheller 

 knows his man, knows Lee's every idea, so he makes 

 every movement count. Everything is timed to a 

 nicety when he tightens the cinch and fastens the latigo, 

 for Allen knows how to handle a man as well as a 

 horse. He passes the halter rope to Caldwell, who 

 turns his stirrup out gently with his left hand, then, 

 inserting his foot, seizes the horn with the same hand 

 and swings lightly into his saddle. Even though one- 

 handed, he avoids any pull on the saddle when leaving 

 the ground, for, in mounting bucking horses it is this 

 jerk that often causes them to lunge or start. 



"He's going up !" says a man. 



"Ain't he sweet?" chimes in a woman. 



The great audience rose as one man. Lee settles 

 himself in his saddle as nonchalantly as though he might 

 be testing his stirrup's length instead of being turned 

 loose to vie for the world's championship on the tough- 



213 



