A fiery horse for the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty hi-yo silver. The Lone Ranger. Years of unrest that followed the Civil War, a powerful secret organization called the Legion of the Black Arrow sprang up in the western United States. Its members were to be found everywhere, defying the law or using the law for their own purposes, working toward the ultimate goal of revolt and the foundation of a despotic empire. It was the masked rider of the plains who led the fight against this band of outlaws and traitors, and for once his great strength and courage, his daring and resourcefulness were taxed to the utmost in the cause of democracy. Return with us now to those thrilling days when the West was young. From out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of a great horse, Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again. Come on, Silver. We're on the tail of the Black Arrow. Hail, Silver. Away. The sun was setting beyond the distant hills. The wagon train, under the leadership of Jeff Penrose, was getting ready to make camp for the night. But before the great circle could be formed, a band of Indians swept over the rise. They seemed to be Apache from their war paint. Instantly, the alarm was shouted from wagon to wagon. Instead of following their usual tactics, the Indians headed straight to the largest wagon in the train. Part of the band held off the settlers. A few of them overpowered the driver and threw him to the ground. Two jumped to the box, ripped up the horses and drove off. When the wagon was out of range, the rest of the Indians followed it. The whole engagement had lasted less than five minutes. Jeff Penrose called all the men together. Quiet down, boys. Quiet. Quiet there now. Watch her now. How many have been hurt? Two Summers boys and Johnny Marsh. Bad? Well, Johnny's done for, but we got one of the Indians. That makes that score even. How about Ed? He got hit over the head and his arm was broke when they pushed him off the wagon. We're going after him, aren't we, Jeff? I don't see how we can. But all our gold was in that wagon, under the false bottom in the back. It wouldn't do any good for just a few of us to go. And if we all went, we'd leave the women and young ones unprotected. What are you waiting for? That's Ed. Jeff, what are you standing around like this for? Why don't you go after him? That was just a raiding party, Ed. The Apache camp might be close. We wouldn't have a chance against all of them. You've got to do something. We can't leave the women folks alone. I know it's a hard thing to lose our gold, but you aren't losing any more than the rest of us. The safe thing to do is just... Don't talk to me about safe. And don't talk to me about gold. What about my boy? Your boy? That's what I said. But he was in the back of that wagon. Those savages got him prisoner. And if you ain't going after him, I am. You can't, Ed. You've got a broken arm. Hey, look, Jeff. Along our back trail, there's two hombres riding totists. I see them. Ready with your guns, men. A white horse and a paint. An engine and a mask man. Hold your fire. They're outlaws. They must be. I said hold your fire. Most of you folks are new to the West. If you weren't, you'd know who that mask man is. Well, if he's honest, what's he wearing a mask for? That's his business. Oh, I'm telling you, we're mighty lucky to have him show up now. That's the Lone Ranger. Now, just stand by and let me do the talk. Danny Silver. Hello, Jeff. Howdy. I don't know I saw the attack from the ridge. Was anyone killed? They got one of our men and we got one of theirs. I never saw an Indian attack like it. They went straight for one wagon and drove it off. That's right. As luck would have it, that was the wagon we had all our gold stored in. And luck had nothing to do with it, Jeff. You say one of the Indians was killed? Yeah. Where is he? Over yonder, under that blanket. Take a look at him. Tell him about my boy, Jeff. Sure, Ed. Buddy Chalmers was in the back of the wagon they took, mask man. We can't let those savages keep him prisoner. They may have been savages, but they weren't Indians. Huh? Well, sure they were. Here, you can see for yourself. That's Apache war paint. Yes, Jeff. That still doesn't make him an Indian. His body's been stained. Look at his wrist, Tonno. Black arrow. What's that? You were attacked by a band of renegade white men. They knew where your gold was and that's all they were interested in. Shall we go after him? No, Jeff. I think Tonno and I'd better trail him alone. Here, Silver. Here, Count. You go ahead and make camp. What about my boy? Chalmers, if your boy is still alive, we'll bring him back to you. That's a promise? That's a promise. Steady. Come on, Silver. Get him up. Come. The outlaw's trail crossed the rise to the west and then headed into the foothills. With the tracks of the wagon and all the horses, it was easy for Tonno to follow, even in the gathering darkness. And at last, when higher ground had been reached and the lone ranger and his faithful companion rode along the edge of a deep gully, the masked man raised his arm and a signal to stop. Down below in the gully, Tonno. Then hitched the horses from the wagon and pushed it over the edge. It's wrecked now. Yes, but we'll take a look at it. There's just a chance the boy may have been inside. You think outlaw want to kill him? He couldn't have fit in with their plans very well. Down the bank, Silver. Get him up, Scout. No sign of boy, Kimo Savi. No, there was a false bottom to the wagon and they ripped it up to get the gold. Where did they get all their information? Maybe their crook and wagon train. We'll have to check on that later. There's a moon, Tonno. Can you still follow the trail? Ah, you go up into mountain. The closest spring is in Crystal Canyon. Maybe that's where gang make camp. If that's true, if their tracks lead into the canyon, we'll take the upper trail to the ridge above. Ah, that way we see camp and them not see us. That's the idea, Steady. Hip, come on. Get him up, Scout. Get right, Camp. You look there. Tonno wash off, Stain. Yes. And what do we do now? I'm still looking for the boy. Tonno not see him. They didn't get rid of him on the trail. He must be down there somewhere. Look, to the right of the campfire. That dark shadow. Maybe that blanket roll. No, it's moving, Tonno. He's rolling away from the fire. That's right. It's a boy. Must be Buddy Chalmers. Then stop him now. Pull him back. Make him sit up. I told his father we'd bring him back if he were alive. Now we've got to find some way to keep that promise. Oh, it'd be plenty hard. The boy comes first. The gold afterwards. What's wrong with Silver? Someone may be coming. Tonno, hurry. Circle around and back. Ah, me go. Who's there? I got a gun left at your head. Don't try to make a move or I'll fire. Who are you? They used to call me Tombstone. This ridge belongs to me. I don't like trespassers. You can get back to your camp or tell whoever's in charge you can't post any lookouts up here. I was just leaving. You were leaving my way. How do you mean? Take one step back. If I did that, that'd be over the edge of the cliff. Yeah. You'll get back where you come from plenty fast. I wouldn't be able to repeat your warning. You might be. There's ledges. You might be able to grab a hold of something on the way down. But that don't interest me much. All I want you to do is step over the edge. And if I refuse? Then I open fire. I don't like outlaws. You're making a mistake. I'm not an outlaw. I don't like arguments. If you aren't gone by the time I count three, I got some hot lead here to help you. One, two, All right, Tonno. Good work, Tonno. I've got his gun. All right, mister, you win. I didn't see your engine powered there. What are you going to do now? Push me over the cliff? You said you didn't like outlaws. I don't. And whatever you do, you can't make me change my mind about that. Go ahead and kill me. I won't knuckle under to any of your breed. We don't belong to that gang down there. I don't care what gang you belong to. We aren't outlaws. You're wearing a mask. This lone ranger. Huh? Say that again, Injun. This lone ranger. Well, what do you know? I might have guessed it. That white horse, your mask. Oh, if there was more men like you in the West, men who got a sense of fair play and justice, I wouldn't be living like a hermit up here in this ridge. You're out to capture the gang. That it? They just held up a wagon train, took all the settlers' gold and took one of the men's sons a prisoner. A young'un? Oh, about ten, I'd say. Ah, the yellow pole cats. We want to rescue him first, and you may be able to give us some information that will help. I'll be glad to. The canyon's blind. Now it ends just beyond their campfire. That's right. And if we ride into the canyon from the north, we'd have to cover a lot of open ground. It'd be hard to get close to the camp without being seen or heard. Makes it impossible. On the other hand, if we knew... You don't have to go any farther, mask man. I see what you're driving at. That cliff beyond the camp has got plenty of cover. Ah, many trees grow there. You'd like to find a trail down that to the bottom. Is there one? Yep. Wide enough for the horses? Pretty sure-footed, ain't they? Uh-huh. And they can make it easy. You just follow me and I'll show you. We leave the horses here, Tonto. There, boy. We must find something to draw their attention to the other side of the fire. Tonto do that. How? Me sneak round there. Keep behind trees. Start to shoot at them. It might work. I can keep under cover until I'm only a few feet away from the boy. Ah. Just empty your gun and start back for the horses. Them fine boy gone plenty quick. They may be glad to get rid of him. But if they do follow us, I have a plan. Not good. Tonto, stop now. Don't cry out, buddy. Your father sent me. Take that bag, too. It's part of the gold. Right. Look, the masked man. He's got the boy. That's part of the gold, too. Get after him. Them fine trails now. Start up after us. You can get away from them. We want to capture them, buddy. But there's only two of you. There's about 20 of them. What's your plan? I'll explain when we get to the top. That'd be plenty soon now. Yes. There's Tombstone waiting for us near the big pine. You made it. Him better be quiet. I'm glad we don't have to look for him. Steady there, silver. Oh, steady, boy. Steady. Better not stop here long. I've been looking over the edge. They're on their way up. Can we leave the boy with you, Tombstone? What's that? We've got part of the gold. They'll try to get it back, and we may be able to lead them into a trap. But I don't want to put the boy in any danger. Sure you can leave him with me. I've got a hideout that nobody can find. Help him down, then. He's still bound. Come on, Sonny. I want to go with the Masked Man. You'll be safer here. I want to go with you. Well, that's impossible, buddy. Believe me. We'll be back for you shortly. I'll cut your ropes here. What's your idea, Masked Man? Well, it's fairly open country all the way down the mountain. We can let them keep us in sight and still keep out of range. Where you'll lead them? You'll leave me at Rocky Ford, Tonto, and head for the wagon train. And by the time I've led the gang to Laurel Pass, you'll have the men there waiting for us. Ah, me do it. Hurry up, Tombstone. Get the boy under cover. This way, Sonny. I don't want to go with you. I want to go with the Masked Man. Hear them, Tonto? Ah. Then get near Top of Trail. Then let's go. Come on, Silver. Get him up, Scout. Oh, Silver! Oh! The curtain falls on the first act of our Lone Ranger story. Before the next exciting scenes, please permit us to pause for just a few moments. Now to continue our story, as the Lone Ranger and Tonto neared Rocky Ford, the Masked Man urged Silver to greater speed. Faster, Silver. Faster. Can I not, Scout? You go this fast? Out long and keep up? I don't want them to see which way you're heading when you leave me. Ah. Me turn off trail up there. By those big rocks, yes. I'm waiting here. Steady, Silver. Steady. Good. Can't be seen near the side of the rocks. Steady, boy. We've got to wait. Here, I'll just lift this bag up so they can see it. There they are, rounding the bend up above. Wait, Silver, wait. We aren't trying to get away, old fella. We've got to lead them to Laurel Pass and we've got to take a long time doing it. All right, boy. Now you can travel. Come on, Silver. Very few of the men in the wagon train went to bed that night. They sat around a small campfire, their rifles close at hand. Hardly a word passed between them. The hours dragged on. Then suddenly, at the sound of hoofbeats in the distance, they were on their feet to a man. Now don't get panicky, boys. It might be the Lone Ranger and Tonto. There's only one horse. It's the engine. No sign of my boy. Oh, Silver, Coppola. Oh. You don't have to tell me. They killed Buddy and they got the Lone Ranger. Oh, that's not right. Him lead gang to Laurel Pass. You get horse gun, follow me. He's leading the gang to the pass. Don't ask questions. Do what he says. We'll have an ambush waiting for him. So where's Buddy? Have they still got him? No, we got boy. We're leaving him with Hermit up on Ridge. Him safe. Thank goodness. That's it, boys. Into the saddle. All right, Tonto. Lead the way. Get him up. Get him up. You look up ahead. Pass McTern. Yeah? Them come round there. We wait here. Whatever you say, Tonto. Half your men, half side, half this side. You hear what he says, boys? Sam, you take half of them. Get on the other side of the trail. Jake, Pinky, all of you to my right. Stay here. What about the horses? Better stay on horses. Outlaw and not get way there. Get moving, boys. We've been here most half an hour, Tonto. Mask, then make sure we get here before him start for pass. Yeah, I suppose he would. So he's got part of the gold, huh? And they figured they can get it back from him. That's right. Come on, Silver. Listen. Tonto, here. It won't be long now. How about it, Jeff? Here comes the masked man. He'll give us the word. Hi, Kimasabi. Good work, Tonto. I'm glad you made it, Jeff. How far back are they? You can hear their horses. Wait until they all get around the turn before you close in. Wait for the masked man's signal. All right, Jeff. Get up now. Get up, boy. Get up, Jeff. Run here. Now, let him have it. Hey! As the men from the wagon train closed in on every side, the outlaws realized there was no chance for escape. Only a few shots were fired before they threw down their guns and raised their hands to the sky. The whole gang was captured. And as the settlers roped them, the Lone Ranger questioned the leader. What's your name? What difference does that make? Answer me. Some folks call me Nick. I notice that you're the only one who has a black arrow on his wrist. That's right. These boys just work for me. Well, from now on, you'll be out of a job. I'm up to the farm. We'll get you a yacht, masked man. Jeff. Yeah? You'll be making camp near Pleasantville tomorrow night. You can turn most of these men over to the sheriff there. But Nick will have to travel with you as far as Clarksville. Well, what's the idea of that? That's the first place you'll find a United States Marshal. Oh, he's a sort of special crook, huh? Yes, he is. Is Buddy's father around? Well, he couldn't ride hard with a broken arm. We had to leave him back with the wagons. Did you see him, Tonto? Uh-huh. Me tell him, boy, safe. We leave him with hermit up on Ridge. We'll be riding back there to pick him up, Jeff. The rest of the gold must be still in the camp. We'll get that, too. Well, I could send a few men with you. Oh, that won't be necessary. It's nearly daybreak. And you'll want to get the wagons rolling. We'll catch up with you. Why are you laughing? I just got it. A hermit up on the Ridge. That's the richest thing I ever heard in my life. What do you mean? So you think the kid is safe, huh? Why shouldn't he be? Well, this is one time you slipped up, masked man. That hermit. Did he have a black beard and black eyes as sort of a hook nose? Well, we couldn't see his face very well. A big hombre and hands like hams? That's right. And he called himself Tombstone? Yes, he did. Well, he's got a right to that name. Him not look like outlaw. Sure he don't. We know him for what he is. There ain't an outlaw in this part of the country wouldn't shoot him on sight. And the kid's safe with him. You mean he's a killer? Well, there's only one way he kills. He likes to see men go over that cliff. And he stands up there and laughs. Oh, no. He ain't an ordinary killer like me and Blackie. We gotta have a reason, but Tombstone likes it. He starts staring mad. Steady, Silver. We're riding up the mountains, Tonto. Come on, Silver. Let him out the count. Buddy, it's getting light. Time to get up. Oh, hello. Has the master man come back yet? Nope, not yet. There's a bucket of water over by the door. You go splash some on your face and then we'll have some breakfast. I've cooked some biscuits and we got bacon and beans. Gosh. Smells good. Are you hungry? I sure am. Thought you might be. We're pretty high up here and the mountain air gives you an appetite. Yeah. You live up here all by yourself, mister? My name's Tombstone. Do you, Mr. Tombstone? Yep. Isn't it awful lonely? Oh, I don't mind it. And every now and then I have a visitor like you, buddy. Have you got something I can dry my face on? Just use that flour sack hanging on the nail. I... I can't reach it. Yeah, I'll get it for you. There. Thanks, Mr. Tombstone. Ah, come on. We'll get to work. You sit here. I'll sit by the stove. Well, pile in, buddy. That's what I aim to do. Ah. Hmm. Hmm. There's the sun. What? The sun. It's shining in the window. Oh, yeah. Much later than I thought. The masked man will come back, won't he? Why, sure he will. I couldn't understand the plan he was talking about. That's because you don't know the country. He'll come back, don't you worry. Maybe your pa will come with him. Gosh. I hope so. I tell you what, buddy. They'll have to ride into the canyon before they can get up here. So after you've finished eating, we'll take a walk over to the edge of the cliff. The cliff? Yeah. That way we can see him a lot sooner. Would you like to wait there? Uh-huh. All right, then. Hurry up and eat your vittles. Steady, Silver. Oh, Scout. Oh, fellas. This is where we left them last night. Uh-huh. And their footprints. Let them go that way. We talked about a hideout. Perhaps a cabin. Maybe so. Come on. Let's hope we're not too late. Get him up, Scout. Pretty up here, Mr. Tombstone. Yep. You feel like you're on top of the world. I guess you do. I guess that's why I've always liked it so much. Is that the cliff up ahead? Uh-huh. How far is it down to the canyon? Well, you rode up from it last night with the masked man. Yeah, but I mean straight down. Well, it must be close to a thousand feet. Gosh. What's the matter? I don't know. I always get sort of dizzy when I'm up high. Just thinking about it makes me dizzy. You aren't scared, are you? A big fella like you? Shucks, no. Then come on. Can't we see the entrance of the canyon from here? Well, how about it? I guess not. Nope. We've got to walk right over to the edge before we can do that. All right, Mr. Tombstone. Just a second, while I get my breath. Easy, fella. You'll find him. No, Tonto. He ain't here not long ago. Oh, their footprints. Heading for the cliff. Steady, boy. Come on, Silver. Get him up. How do you feel now, buddy? Fine. Got your breath back? Sure. I wasn't scared, you know. Oh, of course you weren't. You just take my hand and we'll sort of balance each other. Yeah, that's a good idea. Yeah. I can see down the canyon now. Oh, not all the way to the entrance. Are we... Are we going right to the edge? Right to the edge. Isn't... Isn't this far enough? Nope. Right to the edge. It's just a few more steps now. Can we... Can we take him sort of slow? Just as slow as you want to. Here we are. It isn't so bad, is it? Look down, buddy. I don't want to. Hey, what's that? A rope. Mike Silver. It's a masked man. He ropes us both together. He won't get me. Don't, masked man. You pull us off our feet. That's far enough, Silver. Now back to me, Ed. No use trying to get loose, Mr. Tombstone. What's the idea, masked man? It was just a trick, buddy. You can see my gun, can't you, Tombstone? I see it. Better get away and I'll use it. All right, Silver. Here's the rope, fella. What's the idea of roping us? Why are you pointing that gun at Mr. Tombstone? Don't worry about it, buddy. You're going back to your father and Tombstone's going on to Clarksville. That's where he's going to live from now on. Oh. You run along to Tonto. You're going to ride on scout. Yes, sir. Howdy, Tonto. Tonto. Well, are you going to make any trouble, Tombstone? No. No, I'm all right now. I'm glad you got here in time. Just put me somewhere where I'll be safe, where I can't ever do anything like that again. Don't worry. That's where you're going. Well, I think you'd better mount first. Right. You'll see your father in less than an hour, buddy. Let's hurry. All right, come on, Zillman. Get him up this town. Get along there, boys. Pa, there goes a masked man in Tonto. They're riding the head of the train. You got the hermit with him? Nope. There's just two of them. Well, here comes Jeff. We'll ask him about it. Rain up, Jeff. Oh, boy, whoa. Oh, steady. Oh, boy. How come the masked man's leaving without the hermit, Jeff? We're taking charge of Tombstone. There was a girl who rode up to the camp this morning and left a message with Mrs. Summers. It was for the Lone Ranger. He just got to read it. Must have been important Gosh, Pa, look at him travel. Mighty fine sight, buddy. Mighty fine sight. Go away! You have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.
