A fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty hay-o silver, the Lone Ranger. In the early days of the western United States, there were few doctors. But the few there were wrote an heroic chapter in the history of the frontier. Single-handed and without proper supplies, they covered vast stretches of territory and brought relief to the people. They met terrific obstacles in the course of their duty. But against the forces of nature and the superstitions of the settlers, they found one ally, the Masked Rider of the Plains. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again. Come on, Silver! We're heading for Mosquito Pass! There's going to be trouble! Oh, Silver! The stagecoach for the west had traveled far beyond Red River. County after county flew beneath the rumbling wheels. Get along, lad! Get along! Boy, Van Zandt, Dallas, Comanche! Yeah! The top of the coach was piled high with wooden cases. And inside, a young man was surrounded by more of them. He watched the Great Plains and the mountains in the distance. A new country. A country as new as his own career. I'm a doctor now. Medicine Bend. Red Rock. Cold water. Carolina! Yeah! I'm a doctor. At last, a doctor. James Bates, M.D. I've taken the oath of Hippocrates. Cold flats. Trigger Bend. I swear by Apollo the physician. My scolathus. Health and all healing. And all the gods and goddesses. Get along! Get up! Rush Bank. San Angelo and Marpoza. I will follow that system which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients. Bottsville, Trigger Creek, and Brent. With purity and holiness, I will pass my life and practice my art. Marshville, El Dorado, and Vick's Crossing. Into whatever houses I enter. I will go into them for the benefit of the sick. Grants Pass and Paint Rock. Get up! Get up there! And whatsoever I see or hear in the life of men which are not to be spoke of abroad, I will not divulge. Mosquito Pass. Hi there! Whoa, whoa there! Right up there! Right up! Whoa! Whoa this! Whoa there! Hey, what... Take it easy, driver, and you won't get hurt. Climb up, Tutto, and hand those cases down while I speak to the man inside. Hold on! There's nothing of value to you in those cases. I'm Jim, uh, Dr. James Bates. Well, that's what I heard, Dr. Bates. The pony rider brought word that you were on this stage. This is Mosquito Pass. What of it? Mosquito Pass is your destination. We'll help you unload. I'm not getting off here. I'm sorry to have to take this means of getting you, Dr. Bates. The people around here need you. Why, I... I plan to go to Pecos. Miss Ferris paid to Pecos. I'll help you with that one, Tudor. Here. Come! I have it! Look here, mister! Those things... Well, the things you have inside. Is this yours? Be careful. That's my microscope. We'll be careful. Well, if you're determined to unload those things, I'll help. I spent every dime I had for this equipment. You seem well-equipped. Is that the last? Yes, but I plan to go to Pecos, and I don't... On your way, driver. When you get to town, tell the folks that Dr. Bates is here. He'll be along to see the Hasslip folks sometime tonight. I'll tell them a doggone highwayman is here. They better come gunning for you. On your way, now. Get up! Get up there! Here I am in the middle of nowhere. Did you figure that I'd walk and lug all that stuff with me? Get the wagon, Kemosabe. Uh-huh. You got it. I'll be quick. There's an abandoned hunter's cabin a little to the south. We borrowed a buckboard to move you there. Bates, you're entitled to an explanation. It seems to me this is a pretty high-handed way. You're in a high-handed community. Boss Magruder does what he pleases with the people in Mosquito Pass. You'll find that out. You better get friendly with Magruder as soon as you've taken care of the folks that are dying like flies from the fever. Fever? Yes. Until this year, Mosquito Pass had only to contend with Magruder. This year, however, there's been an epidemic of fever. No one seems to know how to treat it. I... I see. They need you, Bates. They need help. We're going to get you settled, and then you can take Bart Haslop's horse and buckboard back and call on his wife and children at the same time. Haslop. That'll be your first case in Mosquito Pass. My first case. Pretty high fever. Doctor will. The children live. We'll pull them through, Haslop. If you'll ride back to my place, I'll give you some medicine for them. And my wife. Now, don't you worry. Well, it's been something awful, Dr. Bates. Folks dying every day. I never seen the like of it. All those dratted mosquitoes. I've noticed them. Are they always as bad as this? They used to be, and that's how it got to be named Mosquito Pass. But we didn't have none to speak of till this year. It's Magruder that's to blame. The children should be protected from them. Hang some wet sheets over the door and windows. Keep as many of them out as you can. All right, Doctor. Whatever you say. I'll go back with you now, huh? All right. As for that buckboard and horse, you'll be needing a horse to get around on. Yes, I... Well, you keep that. Keep it till you get one of your own. And, Doc, you save my wife and kids, pull them through this fever, and that horse and wagon's yours for keeps. Now, who can... Whatever it is, we'll speak to them outside. I want those kids disturbed as little as possible. Yeah, yeah, sure thing. I heard the doc was here, Haslop. Oh, Mr. Magruder, just a minute. Mind if we talk out here on the porch, my... Don't matter. Don't matter where we talk. My business is brief, brief and to the point. It's you, Doc, that we want to speak to. Yes? My name is Magruder. You've, uh, heard about me, I suppose? Yes. This is Mr. Bernard. He's Mayor of Mosquito Pass. Bernard, shake hands with Doc Bates. I'm, uh, I'm in a little hurry. I have some other people to see, and... Hey, what's this about the stage you come on being held up? What did you hear? The driver told about the mass man an Indian that held up the stage, stole your stuff, and, uh, abducted you. That sort of thing can't be tolerated in Mosquito Pass. We got law here. There were a couple of men who helped me unload my things. Maybe the driver mistook that for a holdup. What? That's all there is to it. It's that won't do. You were shielding this highwayman. Was anything stolen? Well, uh, not exactly, but, uh... I don't see any reason for complaint. This, uh, mass man... What do you want me to do about it? Roger Complaint. Filed charges against him. He can't run this town with high hand like he's trying to do. We won't stand for it. Well, what else has he done, Magruder? He called on me. Hinted that I was the cause of the mosquitoes. He even accused me of being the cause of this fever that hit the town. And that's crazy. Everyone knows that a mosquito bite don't amount to nothing. Scratch her, and that's the end of it. The mass man thought... Wait. Haslip, I'll bring that medicine to you. I've got to come back here anyway. But, Doc, where are you... I'll see you later. Get up. Come on. Get up. Ran right away while I was talking to him. Where does he get off that? That's an insult. I couldn't see where he was insulting. Haslip, he's shielding that mass man. Oh, now, Magruder. Haslip, you are forgetting a little item of, uh, mortgage on your place here. You don't let me forget that, Magruder. Borrowers have to be careful who they choose for friends, Haslip, and who they give the land of horses. Come on, Bernard. I'm following a complaint against this, this man with a mask. I'll tell the sheriff he tried to rob me. But that ain't so, is it? How do you know? You weren't there. Dr. Bates brought special equipment from his little shack. First at the Haslip cabin and afterwards at the other cabins in the pass. He prepared small bits of thin glass that he carefully stored in special boxes. That night as he worked with the light of an old oil lamp and tinted over his microscope, he heard the clattering of hoofs outside. Now what? Oh, you! Hello, Doctor. Bates, I talked to this man, Magruder, today. Yes, it made an enemy. He's stirring things up for you. I know. Tal has been around town and he told me. I came to speak to you about that swamp on Magruder's place. Swamp? There used to be a fair-sized stream of water running through his ranch and then north through the edge of town. Magruder had his men dig a new channel so that the stream would water a new pasture he fixed up. Yes. Well, when the stream was changed, the old bed dried up, except for one large low spot which remained stagnant. The place has bred mosquitoes until there are menace in the town. Yes, I heard something about that. Isn't there a chance that it's those insects that cause the spread of disease? Just wait. Wait until tomorrow when I see how my patients have responded to the medicine. Then I'll be sure whether or not this fever is one that's brought by mosquitoes. If the quinine has brought a quick change for the better, I'll know. Hello there, Haslip. Oh, hello, Doc. Just looking for you to come. I'll, uh... I'll be needing that horse and buckboard today. Oh, then your folks have... Oh, they're up and around today. Lots better. Well, they are. Well, I'll have a look at them. I, uh... I, uh... Reckon you won't be needed, Bates. But, Haslip, what's the matter? What have I done? I'll take the horse now. Needn't bother unhitching. I'll tend to it. Now, wait a minute, Haslip. This is the second place I've been this morning and found this same sort of attitude. What has Magruder been saying? Uh, why, nothing. Nothing at all. Very well, Haslip. I'm glad your folks are better. Won't be needing you no more, Doc. But if your wife's fever has gone down... I don't know about that. I'd most sooner see her fight through the fever without no help than have her made well by dope. Dope? Ain't nothing else could cure so quick. Well, I gave no dope. I simply... All right, then. Poor, blind fools. I ask no pay. I ask no help. I simply want to make the sick people well. One man's greed. One man afraid he'll lose a little pasture land. And so all these poor creatures have suffering and death. There he is. Come on, boys. Come and let him. Bernard, what's the matter? Take him alone. Wait now, wait. Hold on. What are you doing? Try to make the folks a lot of dope fiends, huh? Oh, Bernard, you're crazy. Get the rail, boys. Ride him out of town. Then smash up his place and burn it down. Oh, you fools. You blind and crazy fools. The mob seized the doctor. His clothing was torn by rough hands. A rock opened a jagged cut in his cheek. He was ridden on a rail to the edge of town. Given an old mule, and then... Come back here again and we'll shoot you. Now get! Now for that shack you used! Yeah, come on now, huh? Led by Magruder's friend, the mayor, and accompanied by the sheriff, the men stormed up the hill to the doctor's shack. Medical supplies that had been bought a thousand miles were spilled to the floor. Glassware, chemical equipment, and even the precious microscope were thrown into a heap. Then oil spilled over everything. Now touch a match to the whole shebang and we'll stand back and watch her burn! Flames leaped high and the half-crazed men shouted their satisfaction. That's his finish! That'll be enough of Doc Bates and Mosquito Pass. Look at her burn! We should have thrown Bates there to burn along with it. That's what we... We're learning to feed our whole town dope! The curtain falls on the first act of our Lone Ranger drama. Before the next exciting scenes, please permit us to pause for just a few moments. Now to continue our story. As the flames from the doctor's shack painted the sky above the pass, Magruder stood at the window of his living room. His mother was sitting near him and... Look out that window, boy. Oh, just when I get settled in my chair. What is it? A fire? Fire's right. That's how I handle things. Huh? I find out what's likely to happen then take steps to stop it. That's why I'm a success. I'm farsighted. Well, I ain't no denying your success, son. But I don't save him. That's the upstart doctor that came here. He lived in that shack. Uh-huh. And it wouldn't knuckle under. Is that it, son? That's right, mother. He started the story the first thing this morning. Said that the swamp bred mosquitoes and the mosquitoes caused the fever. He thought he could rouse the people against me. It was all politics. Uh-huh. I told Bernard and a few of the others that have to go to work. So they spread a few stories about Bates. It didn't take much. I keep the right people obligated to me. And in no time it was all over town that he was doping the patients. He shouldn't never have done anything like that. That's just it, ma. He wasn't. But I, uh... You mean to say the young doctor was on the level? I don't know for sure. And he really was helping folks? He was going to make trouble for me. Well, now you can see what happens. Those flames. Look how they light up the night. Just because I ordered it done. Oh, I don't know, son. Sometimes I wonder if you have made a success of your life. You're the richest man around, but... Magruder! It's him. The Lone Ranger. I want to talk to you. What's the meaning of this? Who are you? You can't come here like this. The last time we talked, Magruder, I was dressed a little differently. I asked you to get rid of that swamp you made. Oh. So you were that man, eh? The highwayman. Well, I'm glad to see you. Mighty glad. This time I'm telling you that if you don't bring the doctor back and talk to him, listen to him, you won't have a town left. Is that so? Well, being the one that sent him away, I'm not likely to bring him back. Magruder, will you listen to me for a few minutes? I'll hear what you say at your trial. You're under arrest. If you look behind you, you'll see a couple of deputies that I keep here to guard me against men like you. You aren't going to arrest me, Magruder. But before I leave here, I have this to say. You're not bothered by the fever, and neither are most of your friends, because you live on this side of that swamp you've made. Take him away, boys. The wind carries most of the mosquitoes toward the other part of town, and those mosquitoes carry fever. You must get Dr. Bates back here to treat those patients. I won't be told what to do by a masked outlaw, a bandit. I'm no bandit, Magruder. You heard me, men? Throw him in jail. The sheriff is looking for him. One thing more, Magruder. We've already set blasting powder, all that we could find, to destroy that swamp. We'll manage to dispose of most of the germ-carrying mosquitoes for this season. You'll have until another year to change the stream back where it was. Are you going to take him away? Come on, you. You'll leave me no choice, Magruder. I'll have to blow that swamp up. Hand over them guns now. You can't. Hey, what is this? An engine. That's the time the tables was turned. I'll be hoping to see you send for Dr. Bates, Magruder. Where'd that Redskin come from? You stay in house. All right, Tonto. He comes. Open that door. Get those two. Stop them. Shoot. Stop them. Get them. The Lone Ranger and Tonto raced across Magruder's pasture land and headed for the swamp. We've got to put a lot of distance between us and the others, Kemosabe. You know where powder hid? Yes. The masked man rode straight for a rock where Tonto had left the length of fuse connected with a heavy charge of powder. Here, the Lone Ranger leaped to the ground. Keep watch, Tonto. Don't let anyone get close. No one come yet. A tiny light flared in the night. And then, there we are. Anyone coming yet? I may not see them. They had to take time to get to the horses. We can only hope they won't get near enough to be hurt by the blast. Get. I'll see you. Get out of the way. The explosion did all the Lone Ranger hoped it would. For the time being, at least, the swamp was destroyed. But the fever raged on. The masked man and Tonto made their camp between Mosquito Pass and the next town where Dr. Bates had stopped and spent most of his time in the cafe. The Lone Ranger kept an eye on the young man while Tonto brought news from Mosquito Pass every evening. One night, however, Tonto was late and... Tonto! May come, Hedgefeller. Him got message. So this is where you've been hiding out, huh? It proved good enough until now. For a whole week, Magruder's had every man in town out hunting you. You have a message for me? I sure have. Where's that there Sawbones? He isn't here. I know. I know he ain't. But we gotta get him real fast. It's Magruder yourself. He's sick and ailing bad. Fever? No, it's worse. It's his stomach. He can't hardly stand it for the pains. His Ma told me to locate you and get you to bring that Sawbones back as quick as you can. But you drove Bates away. You can't expect him to come back there and help Magruder. Listen, stranger. Ma Magruder told me a plenty. She said you was the Lone Ranger and that as long as the boss was stubborn you wouldn't be far away. Magruder's mother said that? Yes. Then this redskin come up to me. I don't know how he knowed that I had to locate you. Tell me. Tell me this right off. Can you find Doc Bates? I'm afraid Bates isn't in condition to do much good now. Is he dead? He might as well be. Look, you gotta get him. Magruder let him come back and settle in town if you get him and he helps fix the boss. I'm afraid, Bernard, it won't be much use. He's got to come. What's more, if he helps the boss there won't be no more charges against you. Wait. There's something else. Granny said that you should tell Bates that Magruder's pa was a doctor. He was? Yes, she says tell him that and if that won't fetch him nothing else will. Bernard, you realize what you're asking Bates to do? I know. But just tell him that's all. I wonder, Tata, did you see Magruder? Uh-uh. Is he really sick? Oh, him plenty sick. Him need doctor plenty bad. Plenty quick, too. Very well. I'll bring Dr. Bates to Magruder's house, Bernard. But if he can't help, it'll be because of what Magruder made him. Come on, Silver. Ten miles across country at Silver's greatest speed brought the Lone Ranger to the next town. Young Dr. Bates was sitting at a table in the cafe, his head in his arms. One glance and the masked man lifted him bodily, carried him outside and threw him across the saddle. The return trip began. But by the time Mosquito Pass was reached, the doctor had barely recovered consciousness. Here. Here, mask for him. Take the doctor, Tata. Oh, you're found it. Take us here. Is that the doctor? Let me go away. Close the door. Get black coffee. I've got a whole pot of it. The Redskins said to have it ready. Give it to me. We've got to undo all the harm that Magruder and all the rest of the money grabbers in this town have done to him. Here, Bates, drink. Tata, get boiling water. I'm that ready. Throw all the things in the doctor bag into the boiling water. I don't know what Magruder will have to have done, but we're going to be ready for anything. What can I do? You've done enough already. Mrs. Magruder, you'd better get more boiling water. Here, Jim, drink. I know where I am. Magruder's. He's got to take what's coming to him. Listen to this. Magruder is a doctor's son. Do you know what that means? He, he's a doctor's son. Remember your oath? He needs you. I, I can't help him now. You can. Come, examine him. Tata, bring the doctor's instruments. Jim Bates, hollow-eyed and half-starved, examined Boss Magruder. The aged woman, Bernard the Mayor and the Lone Ranger watched him anxiously. Finally, he turned to the men. I, I'm sorry. This man needs an operation. Right away. We have your instruments ready, Bates. I, I can't do it. Look at my hands. Trembling. I do it. You will do it, doctor. You'll have to. There ain't nobody else to do it. We'll help get things ready. Tata, give me a hand with the kitchen table. We'll bring it in here. Bernard, you get all the lamps that there are in this house and bring them in here. The doctor will need lots of light. All right. As if glad to be doing something, the Mayor hurried out of the room to gather oil lamps. Bates stood watching the activity as if unable to comprehend just what it meant. Tonto came in with hot water in the basin. Yeah. Your water. Put it right there, Tonto. I'm afraid. You can't be afraid, Bates. Wash up now. I'd rather all of you left the room. Very well. Clear out, all of you. You, you stay here. Very well. Come, Mrs. Magruder. I'll go with you. A scalpel now. A syringe, please. Here. I can't. Steady, Bates. We are going through with it. It's your chance. This is the man who drove you out. You can't stop now. He told the people that you gave them dope. He burned your books, destroyed your laboratory. Come, come, man. What do you want? Keep going. You can't stop now. Bates seemed unable to continue. An inner voice kept telling him that his most bitter enemy was lying on the table before him. Man who brought about a fever then refused to let a doctor help the people. Money meant more than human lives to him. The masked man found a small card inside the doctor's bag. A few words caught his eye. He read, I swear by Apollo the physician and a scalpelus. Let him die. He isn't fit to live. I will keep this oath and this stipulation. Listen to me, Bates. To reckon him who taught me this art equally dear to me is my parents. I... To share my substance with him and relieve his necessities if required to look upon his offspring in the same footing as my own. A doctor's son. The man needs teaching, Bates. This is the chance to teach him. Go ahead. Scalpel. Sucher. Tell me... Is Magruder... Did he... Mrs. Magruder, your son will be all right. Are you sure? Don't lie to me. Are you sure he will? He will get well. You have the word of a doctor, Mrs. Magruder. You know what that means. Oh, thank God. Doctor. Yes, I'm a doctor. James Bates. M.D. The doctor of Mosquito Pass. I know... The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated. No Gotti of God, theлиш heritage founder of the Lone Ranger Incorporated. No Gotti of Mosquito Pass.
