fiery horse with the speed of light, the cloud of dust, and a hearty hi-yo silver, the Lone Ranger. The best 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 the great horse Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again. Come on, Silver! Run the tail of the Black Arrow! Hell, Silver! It was only an hour before dawn. Tonto waited for the Lone Ranger outside the sheriff's house. The main street of Bennett City was deserted. Silver pawed the ground now and then, but otherwise there was no sound. At last the front door opened and the Lone Ranger could be seen saying goodbye to the lawman. A moment later... What'd you find out? The girl's message told the truth. Colonel Harcourt was here and he met three men. Girls say men belong to Black Arrow? She wasn't sure, Tonto. She left it up to us to find out. Where, Colonel, now? The four of them left Bennett City yesterday. Where'd them go? The sheriff couldn't tell me, but they were sitting around a table in the Lone Star Cafe for a long time. Rafe Burton owns the place and the sheriff's given me a note to him. We'll see if he can tell us what they were talking about. Where Burton lived? His cabin's on the edge of town. Steady, boy. Come on, Silver. Get him up to the snow. Can you wait here? I think you'd better, Tonto. I won't be long. We'll have gun ready. He may be seen mass. Shoot first, talk after. I know. Who's here? The sheriff sent me. The sheriff, eh? What's he want? You may... Steady, don't raise that rifle. An outlaw. The sheriff said you knew his handwriting. Here's a note from him. Lone Ranger. Read the rest of it. There. Perhaps a little more light will help. Yeah. You know the colonel, of course. Oh, sure, sure. Well, I'll tell you what I can. Come on inside. I sort of wondered why a fine old gent like the colonel would have any truck with those home bags. How old is he? The colonel? Oh, he must be close to 70. Retired, of course. He's got a big ranch about 50 miles to the south. Yes, I knew that. What were you going to say? Well, I thought it was sort of funny him keeping such company. When he called me over to the table, he said, bring my friends from Wyoming a drink. When the colonel brands anybody a friend, that's good enough for me. Besides, if they come all the way from Wyoming, you couldn't expect them to look like dudes. Of course not. Did you hear anything more? Well, a little. They said there wasn't an army post within a hundred miles of them. They said there were renegade Indians all around and they were organizing a sort of volunteer militia. They were going to build a fort and they wanted the colonel to take charge of it. Where did these men live? What about Fort Laramie and Fort Sanders and Fort Bridger? I'm just telling you what I heard. Go on. Well, that's all. Except the colonel seemed to like the idea. Then he's headed north with them? I don't know. They left town yesterday afternoon, didn't they? Well, I'm not sure. They left my cafe then. The colonel has a ranch to the south. It doesn't seem likely he'd leave it without making some arrangements. Oh, he had a lot of his boys here. He's foreman among them. If he wanted to give any orders, he could have done that easy. Did you hear him? Nope. I can't be every place at once, my husband. And all you can tell me is that the colonel talked with these men and they wanted him to take charge of a fort. That's all. It may be enough. We'll find out which way the colonel headed when he left town. We'll find out which way the three men headed. That may be all the information we need. The Lone Ranger and Tonto found it easy to pick up the colonel's trail outside of town. And they also found evidence that three men were traveling with him. Their direction was north. The masked man and the Indian urged Silver and Scalch to their greatest speed. By daybreak, they'd reached a wooden ridge and charged up the steep slope. Come on, Silver. Faster, boy. Head him up, Scalch. From a leafy cover at the top of the ridge, a man took careful aim with a high-powered rifle. For seconds, he waited motionless. Then he squeezed the trigger. I got him. I got the Lone Ranger. Two weeks later, Colonel Harcourt rode into the hills north of the Sweetwater River with Ben Watson, Corey Green, and Jake Miller. When they reached the top of a hill and commanded the river, Ben rained up his mount and the others followed suit. Here she is, Colonel. We figure this is the place to build our fort. It's a good location. Build it strong enough and a garrison of 20 men could hold it against an army. You mean that? Against trained soldiers, not just against Indians? If it's planned right. Well, we're leaving all that in your hands. How far away is your ranch? You can see mine from the top of the next hill. Corey's and Jake's are just beyond. There's a few more farther north, but we won't have to bother them. Between us, we got enough men to build a fort and man it. Well, what about your cattle while the work's going on? We aren't running, many head. We want to clean the Indians out of the country before we really stock up. You must be losing money, though. Why should you pay a big crew when there's no work for them? Building a fort's going to be their work and making the country safe. We figure it's better to lose a little money now than a lot later on. Well, that shows foresight. I agree with you. Gentlemen, I'm happy that you've asked me to come up here. Without boasting, I believe my experience is equal of any army man west of the Mississippi. I shall train your men and direct the building of the fort to the best of my ability. I'm glad that you disregarded my years. This will be my last command, no doubt. But I welcome the task you've set before me. Glad you feel that way, Colonel. And you know what we're going to do? Do? We're going to call a fort, Fort Harcourt. I'm deeply honored, gentlemen. During the weeks that followed, the wild hills above the sweet water changed their character. Colonel Harcourt laid out the exact position of the stockade, the blockhouse, and the two towers, one at the east and one at the west. Then the men of the three ranches began the actual work of construction. The stockade was nearly completed. The foundations for the blockhouse and the towers had been laid when a tall, broad-shouldered stranger approached the colonel one morning. Colonel Harcourt? At your service, sir. I understand that you're in command here. Well, if one can call it that. Strictly speaking, we have no regular military organization. But you intend to have. Is that the idea? These men are all volunteers. When the fort is finished, I intend to make soldiers of them. Does the regular army know about your plans? I believe so. You believe so? I have no authority from the War Department, if that's what you mean. Well, not exactly. But six months ago, Mr. Watson wrote to Washington and asked that a fort be built on this hill. The army found it impossible to grant his request. Then what? At the same time, he was given full permission to take whatever steps he felt necessary for the defense of the country north of the Sweetwater. I see. Why are you so interested? Well, I'm not exactly an army man, Colonel, but I've had some experience with military matters. I was wondering if you couldn't use a personal aid. You say the colonel sent you? Yes, he did. They'll need these supplies in a week. He suggested the wagon start tomorrow. I'll attend to it. Oh, that's fine. Pretty fellow. Come on, boys. Well, Jake, what do you think of that? I don't like it. Neither do I. Somehow, we've got to get it across to the colonel that we're the only ones who accept the volunteers. Outside of our men, he won't get enough of them to matter. Is that particular hombre I don't like? Looks to be too honest. Maybe it's his horse I don't like. What are you talking about? It's a lot like that paint the engine was riding. What engine? What engine do you suppose? The one that rode with the masked man. He told me the lone ranger was dead. He is. Well, then we've got nothing to worry about. I didn't say the engine was dead. He was behind the masked man and he ducked into the trees after I shot. Ah, you've just got a bad conscience, Jake. There's lots of paint horses in the West. Maybe so. I'm going to watch that hombre, though. The first time he does anything wrong, it'll be the last time. When the men working on the fort rolled up in their blankets and went to sleep that night, the colonel's new aide saddled his horse and rode out of camp. He followed the river to the east for several miles and he plunged into a forest of pines. At last, he reined up in a small clearing. Silver, plenty glad to see you. I'm glad to see him. It's too bad we can't work together, boy. You might be recognized. Them not know you, huh? No, Tano. You've done a fine job with my disguise. How you feel? I never better. It's not good you ride much. You don't have to worry about me, Kimo Sabe. Thanks to you, I don't feel the wound at all. What'd you find out? Well, it's hard to say. The girl hadn't told us that Watson and Green and Miller were members of the Black Arrow. It would be easy to believe they were the most public-spirited citizens in Wyoming. What about men who worked for them? There's nothing wrong with them, I'm sure of it. Watson hired most of his men down south in Texas. Miller's crew came from around Cheyenne. They've taken this job of building a fort as more of a lark than anything else. When it's finished, they expect to go back to riding herd. Maybe so. Yes, and maybe not. A whole lot of them may be fired and new men brought in. Otto, that wasn't either Silver or Scout. Am I right? Get away from the campfire. Uh-huh. Can't be seen from here. You think somebody right after you? The ground's soft. Someone might have followed my trail, even if they kept out of sight. You listen. He's riding away. Him not get close enough to see us. We don't know. His horse wasn't close. Oh, that's plenty bad. Better you not go back to fort. I've got to. It's the only way we can keep track of what's going on. Well, better we write to Laramie. Bring soldiers. They're needed where they are. We can't bring them all the way out here until we're sure there's something wrong. Have Tonto, sure. Scout the country, Kimo Sabi. See what you can find. I'll meet you here tomorrow night. And you'll not come. Then Tonto know him right. Me find you. If I don't come, you'll know I've been taken prisoner. Here, Scout. Tomorrow at midnight. Easy, Scout. Hip. Come on, boy. Good morning, Colonel. I want an explanation from you. What about? Did you leave camp last night? Yes, I did. Did you meet an Indian? Well? There's nothing wrong with the meeting, Colonel. That was a friendly Indian. There are no friendly Indians around here. And anyone who has dealings with them is a renegade. But, Colonel, I... I'm happy to say our guardhouse has been finished, just in time for our first prisoner. Take him away, men. Yes, sir. Come on, man. 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. On the night of the day the Lone Ranger was locked up in the guardhouse, Jake Miller was summoned to Ben Watson's ranch and the two men drew their chairs up to a table in the living room. The breeze from the open window stirred the papers which had been placed there. What's all this? Orders straight from the leader. They were delivered to Corey and he brought them over this afternoon. Well? We got a week to finish the fort and fire the cowboys. They're sending a force of 200 men. That's plenty. They'll have their own rifles and ammunition but we have to bring in a reserve supply. We would if the colonel hadn't thought of that already. Yeah. It was a smart idea picking him. He knows his business. It'll be easy enough to get rid of the cowboys, Ben. But that don't go for the colonel. Why not? You can't just tell him he's through. When he sets eyes on those 200 men they're sending us he's going to ask a lot of questions. What of it? We might as well tell him everything. You mean that the fort is going to be used by the black arrow? Sure. You're local. He'll never live to repeat it, Jake. Oh. Why should he? I can't think of any reason. We'll get rid of him and we'll get rid of that hombre in the guardhouse. I think we can manage that before next week. All we have to do is convince the colonel he's a renegade and he'll be shot at sunrise with all the trimmings. I've convinced him of that already. You accused him but you couldn't prove anything. We'll fix up the evidence. I'll leave it to you. Wouldn't surprise me at all. Have we got it? What the? Ben. There he goes. He called the horse Silver. It's an engine. You can tell by the way he rides. I knew it. You knew what? Don't you see, Ben? I was wrong. I drilled the Lone Ranger but I didn't kill him. He's come up here with the engine but instead of riding his own horse and wearing a mask he's riding the paint and wearing a disguise. That arm breed the guardhouse. We can't let him live not even until morning. Come on. Who's there? It's all right, Kemoshavi. I thought I had to hit guard so he might not make noise. How did you find out I was in here? I hear Ben. Jake talk. Them members of Black Arrow. You're sure? Me tell you later. Me get you out now. We can't loosen the bars on this window. Let's call Silver over. He can break down the door. Maybe men hear that. There was no one inside the stockade but that guard. Even if they do hear it we'll be away before they can catch us. Here's Silver. Wait, wait. You'll need Scout. You better get him first. Where's Scout? In the corral. Just a little way from the camp. Let me see, Tonto. You don't have to get that close. Call the Scout and you'll jump the fence. Tonto, hurry. Good, Tonto. Did anyone see you or hear you? No. Me whistle. Scout, no call. They jumped the fence without anyone seeing him. Ah. It's plenty dark by corral. All right, Silver. It's time for you to go to work. Break down the door. That's fine, boy. Steady there. There he is. All the fire. Come on, Silver. The Lone Ranger and Tonto raced away into the night and for a whole week nothing was seen of them near the port. The work was nearly finished when Jake and Ben walked into the colonel's quarters on the following Saturday. Good evening, Colonel. Gentlemen. We're on our way to the camp. I'd like you to join us. Oh, yes. Saturday night. You're paying off the men. We're paying them off for good. For good? I don't understand. We're firing them, that's all. But why should you do that? That's our business. Surely you must have a reason. For myself, I've never met a more cheerful, hard-working group of men. They're too cheerful. We want fighters. They can fight. I'll answer for that. We're paying them, Colonel, so it's our decision. We're letting these men go tonight. Our new crews will be in tomorrow. Is there nothing I can say to change your minds? Nothing at all. Then, if you don't mind, gentlemen, I prefer to let you handle your own business in your own way. I shall stay here. Suit yourself, Colonel. You heard me right. We hired you, now we're firing you. You can line up and Jake will pay you off. Pack your war bags and get out. Mr. Colonel, I thought he was going to stay in his cabin. I want you to know that I had nothing to do with this. As you look at that fort above us, you have a right to feel proud. You've done a fine job. As we part now, and there's nothing I can do to prevent it, I want to offer you my congratulations, my friendship, my regrets, and my confidence that no matter who Mr. Watson and Mr. Green and Mr. Miller hire to take your place, they can never find worthier men. The cowboys broke camp, and the next day, the men who were to take their place rode into the fort. The colonel was indignant at the force with which his prophecy had come true. He found Ben Watson and voiced his objections. I can't understand you, Mr. Watson. These men are criminals. It's written in their faces. Is that so? How do you expect me to make good soldiers of them? And how can you feel that your cattle is safe in their hands? I don't have much cattle. You will have? True enough. And these are the boys who are going to arrange it. What's that? Rustlers, Colonel. The best in the country. You admit they're crooks? Why not? I'm one myself. If this is a joke, I don't find it funny. You remember that little speech you made last night? I do, and more than ever, I... You made the plans and the boys carried them out. Together you've built a fine fort. But now that it's finished, we don't need you any more than we need them. You've taken advantage of my experience to... Build a stronghold for the Black Arrow. The Black Arrow? What's that? Somehow, I don't think you'll ever find out. I'm leaving at once, Mr. Watson. I should have gone last night. That's right. It would have been a lot safer. Fire! Fire on the west side! Fire? There. You can see the flames over the top. Get some buckets, men. Form a line to the river. Hurry up! Let it burn! Let it burn to the ground! Teddy, she'll wish Teddy! The mask, man. Rick, Colonel, let me help you into the saddle. I know your voice. There's no time to argue. Your life's in danger. I know that now. I'll help with you. Come on, Silver! Once away from the fort, the lone ranger checked the speed of his mount and explained the whole situation to the colonel. But when they topped a rise and started down the far slope into a sheltered valley, another surprise was waiting for him. That camp, Masked Man, all those men. The boys who helped you build the fort, Colonel. But they left. They were heading for Cheyenne and Texas, wherever they came from. How do I manage to stop them? They're waiting for you to take command of them again. If only there were more. If only we had those stores of ammunition in the fort. There may be a way to get them, Colonel. I don't see how. I'll tell you my plan. You're the commanding officer. It's up to you to decide whether we use it or not. I got bad news. What's the matter? Look what they just shot over the stockade. A note? An arrow was stuck through it. When the guard got up to the parapet, he was out of range. Who was? What are you talking about? The engine. Read what it says. It's addressed to me. Yeah. Calling on me to surrender the fort. Those cowboys didn't leave. They're camped in the valley, just waiting for reinforcements and ammunition from Lambie. And the colonel's with them. That's his signature. This is a trick, Jake. If it was true, they wouldn't warn us about it. I aim to find out about that. Go ahead. Send out a scouting party. Right away. And if the cowboys and the colonel are still in the valley, we'll wipe them out. What's the answer? Hell, just got back. It's true. They're all camped out there. I'm going after them, Ben. I'll take your time. You'll need all the men we have. I know that. I'll get them ready. Wait. Not before it's dark. You can charge right into their campfires. They won't hear you coming until the last minute. They won't have any chance to get ready. That's smart, Ben. That's the way we'll work it. And so that night, the renegade army rained up on the ridge above the valley. Below them were the lights of many campfires and with a whispered conference. Follow me and hold your fire until you can shoot to kill. Pass the word along. Come on. Get up. Get up there. Get up there. The outlaws swept down the slope when the circle of campfires was reached. There's nobody here. Just the fires and some branches stuck in the ground to make shadows. And that's the engine. They've been warned and they got away in time. We can't follow their trail tonight. Back to the fort. Get up there. Come on. Get up there. At that moment, back at the fort. Fire down, men. Quiet. Here's the only one we could find, Colonel. It's Ben Watson himself. Good evening, Mr. Watson. Your trick worked after all. You can thank the masked man for the idea. It won't do you any good. You're inside the fort, but you'll never be able to hold it. We got twice as many men as you have. But we're inside and they're outside. We have all the supplies and ammunition we need. We'll hold out as long as we have to. It doesn't have to be long, Colonel. What do you mean? I don't think Ben Watson wants to die. But suppose we find out. When the outlaws rode up to the stockade, the gates were open and the fort was quiet. Only the figure of Ben Watson could be seen on the parapet. Right up there. Jake, I want every man to throw his rifle down on the ground before he rides in here. Huh? You don't have to tell me what's happened. I know. They were gone. They've been warned. Yeah. Some of your men are traitors and I'm going to find out who they are. Go ahead. You'll have them walk through the gate one by one. I'll search them inside here. Did you say walk? Yeah. Leave their horses and their rifles outside. I'm going down below and you can start sending them in one by one. Jake did as he was ordered. One by one, the outlaws walked through the gate. At last, they were all inside. But as Jake himself stepped through... What the... Make a move, Jake. You're covered. What's going on over there? This was another of the masked man's ideas, Mr. Miller. Colonel Harcourt. Yes. As your men walked through the gate, we've been sticking a gag in their mouth and tying them up. There they all are. I don't think they'll make any more trouble. Ben, you dirty double-crosser. I may go to jail, but I won't die. You're yellow. I still got my shit. No, you don't. Mr. I'll take that. Good work, Curly. Maybe you got the fort, but you won't hold it. We've been told that before, but we're turning it over to the United States Army, and they can hold it against any band of outlaws and cutthroats such as you represent. Just wait until the black arrow... Want me to shut off the loose tall colonel? Let go! You might as well. Take him away, boys. Come on. Where's the masked man? I don't know, sir. He was here a minute ago. He's gone. Just think, Curly. Every one of these men are prisoner, and not a shot was fired. My last command. And thanks to the Lone Ranger, it's led to victory and not disgrace. Well, through the... Just Heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.
