A fiery horse with the speed of light, the 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, throw the pill of my girl. Oh, Silver! The Lone Ranger and Tonto headed south from the sweet water. Near Bitter Creek, they saw a cloud of dust ahead of them. A word from Masked Man and Silver increased his speed with Scout keeping his place beside him. Now a herd of cattle could be seen moving toward the opening of a canyon. A solitary horseman rode the point. But just as the opening was reached, the leaders of the herd swung aside and headed for the rider. Then suddenly they broke into a run. Tonto, it's a stampede! That's a girl in front of the herd! Come on, Silver! We've got to hurry! Get him out, Scout! Swiftly, the Lone Ranger and Tonto cut in front of the herd. The girl ranged alongside. Desperation sounded in her voice as she urged her mount on. Come on, Blackie, run! They're gaining on us! Swing to the right! Keep away from me! Don't fight your horse! Let him swing to the right! It's your only chance! Blackie, run! Come on, Silver! Keep away from me! To the right! The herd's swinging toward the creek! The what? We'll make it now! Beam forward! Let your horse have his head! Run, Blackie! Come on, Silver! Get him out, Scout! You can rein up now! We're out of danger! Hey, Silver! Hey, Stella! I suppose I ought to thank you! That isn't necessary! You take plenty big chance! Try to drive herd into Canyon Lone! I wasn't doing that! It looks as if you were! What do you take me for, Tenderfoot? Why, if they ever got up into the hills, nobody could round them up for a month! I, uh... I was trying to turn them aside from the canyon! I see! What do you mean by that? Nothing! Don't you believe me, mask man? I... I was wondering if you'd noticed my mask! Well, I noticed it, but I know who you are! I heard what you called your horse! Don't you believe me? You're right, of course! It'd be almost impossible to round up the herd if they ever got into the hills! There ought to be a fence across the opening of that canyon! There is! There was, anyway! Somebody broke it down! Rustlers? Well, how should I know? You, um... You saved my life, and I'm grateful! I guess that's all I've got to say to you! Goodbye! Just a moment! Get up, Blackie! Kimisabi! It not looked like her tried to stop her! It didn't look that way to me, either, Tonto! I'd say it was just the opposite! Why her do that? I don't know! I think we'd better stay close to Bitter Creek until we find out! When we make camp, then you scout around town! Aye! Aye! Steady, Scout! Steady! What did you learn in town, Tonto? Cattle belonged to a young rancher called Ted Donovan. Donovan, huh? Circle D. Yes, I noticed the Circle D brand. Him sell ranch and cattle plenty soon. Go into freighting business. Freighting business? Ah! Me here talking cafe. Him talk with big man, father girl we see. Well, Ted, is your mind still made up? Yep. And I got another good reason for quitting as a rancher. What's that? My main herd stampeded this afternoon. They didn't pull up till they got to Willow Grove. Well, you can drive them back, can't you? I reckon, but it won't be long before I'm driving them to market. To market? What's the point of that? Why don't you just sell the cattle with your ranch? Because I can't find a buyer. I'll have to keep the buildings and the land. But once I get my money for the herd, I'll buy wagons and oxen, hire men, and start asking for freighting contracts. You'll get them, of course. Sure I will. It's a mighty dangerous trail from here to Cheyenne. We gotta have supplies around this part of the country. You know what happened to your brother? Angus, why do you suppose I'm going into this thing? I'm hiring more than just drivers. There'll be a guard on every wagon. And I'm hoping that the gang that wiped out Johnny and his men try it with me. We'll be waiting for him. We'll be ready, too. Well, I guess I done my best. Nothing or nobody can change my mind, Angus. I wish Janet could realize that. What's she been saying? Oh, the usual. You're loco to try something like this. Getting yourself killed won't bring Johnny back. Somehow, I haven't got any choice. There's something inside me that keeps saying. If you don't do it, you're a coward. You gotta pick up the reins where Johnny dropped. Matt, what Tonto here? But Tonto, how do you know that this man called Angus is the father of the girl we saw out on the range? He asked the barkeep about girl first. I see. This young rancher can't go into the fretting business if he doesn't sell his cattle. That's right. So the girl was trying to drive them up into the hills. Isn't that right? That answers one question. This freight train being wiped out, when did that happen? One week ago. Well, we were up on the sweet water. Ah. How far away from Bitter Creek? Maybe a hundred miles to east. Any landmarks? Ah. Barkeep say outlaw raid and Midnight Pass. That's where we're heading, Tonto. Midnight Pass. Three weeks later, Ted Donovan had reached Cheyenne with his herd. Beef was bringing a good price, and in less than an hour, he had closed the deal. When he returned to the hotel with more than enough in his money belt to start out in the freighting business, he found an old friend waiting in the lobby. Janice, what are you doing here? Hello, Ted. Do you mean to say you've come all the way from Bitter Creek alone? No. Pause here. But I would have come alone if I'd had to. What for? What's the idea? Well, it isn't going to make much sense to you, Ted, but a girl told me to. A girl? I should say it doesn't make sense. You won't listen if I tell you you're in danger, will you? It won't make any difference to my plans. It can't. But I, uh, I gotta admit I'm curious. Who's this girl you're talking about? I don't know her name. I never saw her before. As a matter of fact, I didn't see her very good that night. It was awful dark down by the corral. This is getting worse instead of better. Oh, I suppose it is. I guess there isn't any sense in my going on. Anyway, I didn't come here to see you. There's another man somewhere around Cheyenne that'll listen to me, even if you won't. Now, now, now, honey, that's no way to talk. You know I love you and I'll listen to you all day long. But I'm going after the crooks that killed Johnny. Ted, didn't you ever realize you being Johnny's twin and looking so much like him that even I found it hard to tell you apart? Didn't you ever realize that those crooks might... What's the matter? There was a man over there with a scar on his face. He was looking at you. Where? He's gone now. He went up the stairs. Oh, Ted, I'm afraid. I'm afraid to say anything for fear of what you'll do. I'm afraid if I don't, I won't find the masked man in time. Oh, I'm afraid. Who's there? Stone. Wait a minute. Mike, you've got to believe me. I've got to believe what? I haven't touched a drop today. And it's almost noon. That's a miracle. I want you to know that I'm telling the truth. Yeah, that'd be another miracle. Oh, listen, Mike, this is straight. I just saw Johnny Donovan downstairs. You what? I did. With my own eyes, I saw him. He was standing over by the desk talking to a girl. She caught a side of me, and he started to turn around, but I ducked up the stairs. It can't be. All right. Don't take my word for it. Go down there and see for yourself. How could he be alive? Red got plugged nine times down in Tombstone, and he's alive. Yeah, yeah. Maybe he's talked already. No, no. They'd have come after us long before this. What would stop him? Carol, of course. He figured she was mixed up in it and laid off for her sake. Would he do that after what happened? Maybe he's out to get us himself. Yeah, if he turned around any faster, he would have seen... We've got to get him first, that's all. It's too early for Carol to be at the cafe. We'll find her at her house. Yeah, why do we want her? She made the mistake in the first place. It's up to her to fix things up. Come on. She going out? Don't worry. We'll slip out the back of the hotel. Johnny won't catch you just yet. They ought to slap your face. I don't care. I'm glad. All right, you're glad. Maybe you won't be so happy when I get through. You're not going after him again. No, Carol. I'm not going after him again. Oh, good. He proved he wouldn't go to the law. Besides, what if he did? What could he prove? We're not going after him again, Carol. But you are. No. No, Mike. You wouldn't ask me to do a thing like that. I couldn't. Don't you understand? He trusted me and I double-crossed him. All right, that's bad enough. You can't expect me to do anything more. I won't, Mike. I tell you, I won't. You know what the choice is, Carol. Do you follow orders or don't you? Quiet, Silver. It's Tonto. Yes, you're right. Someone riding with him. Tonto, fine girl in town, Kimosabe. Bring her here. The girl? Masked man. I'm Janet McLean. Don't you remember me? Of course. I thought at first Tonto meant someone else. I know who you mean and I have a message from her. You have? She couldn't come to Cheyenne herself and she asked me to come instead. She wanted you to know the truth about Johnny Donovan's death. The truth? Yes. I'll have to tell it just the way she told it to me because there's some parts I don't understand. She said you would. Please go on. Well, in the first place, Johnny was in love with a girl named Carol. Ah. Her work in Palace Cafe. Through Carol, Johnny met some men who had a business transaction they wanted to talk over with him. This is the part I don't understand. Those men were members of the Black Arrow. That's all right. Go on. Whatever the transaction was, Johnny wouldn't have anything to do with it. That's why he was killed. You're right, Tonto. They rode out of town ahead of him and waited at the pass. Ah. What are the names of the men? Could she tell you that? Just one of them. Mike Rafferty. Tonto know him. That's fine. We may be able to get proof against him through this Carol. But don't you understand? Ted's in town. He's in danger every minute. Have you told him all this? Is he going after Rafferty himself? No, I was afraid he'd do that, so I haven't said a word to him. Then I can't see why he should be in danger. They may think he's Johnny. Why should they? Ten and Johnny were twin brothers. They look exactly alike. Didn't you know? Miss Silver. What are you going to do? Twins, he is in danger. You've got to find him. Is that him, Silver? Yep. Let's hope we're not too late. Get him up, Scout. Go, Silver! Fall away! 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, Tonto, and Janet were heading for the town, Angus McLean and Ted Donovan met on the porch of the hotel. This is the fire, Tonto. Coming in, Donovan. Hello, Angus. You're up so late yourself. Where should I be? Hey, where's Janet? Is she going to a room already? Oh, I don't know. You don't know? Oh, why should I? I haven't seen her since supper. You mean to say she didn't go riding with you? Why, no. I had some business with a man named Smithers. We've been talking for the last three hours. Yeah, but she told me that... Or did she? Did she what? She said she was going for a ride, that I shouldn't worry. She had plenty of protection from a man I trusted. I thought she meant you. Well, if she had, she'd have said so, wouldn't she? She was smiling. I figured she was just being cute. It wasn't you she was talking about, though. It was the masked man. The masked man? The lone ranger. What's that? That's why we're here. She's trying to find him. But if she went riding by herself outside the town and missed him, there's no telling what might have happened. Are you sure she hasn't come back? I've just been taking a turn up the street. She might have slipped in. Come on, we'll ask the clerk. Keno. The lone ranger. Yeah, that's what he said. Who's the old gent? His name's McLean. It was his daughter that saw me. She's the girl they were talking about, eh? Yeah. Well, what about it? Has she come in? You're following orders. You've been sticking close enough to the porch to see everybody that come in. I have. I didn't see her. Ah, they're asking the clerk. Why should we worry about the girl? We've got to find some way to get Donovan away from the hotel. This is it, Scar. Look, they're going upstairs. They've got to try her room. Yeah? I guess the clerk wasn't sure, but as long as you are. Yeah, I have. And all we have to do is leave a message with the clerk before they come down. Oh. There he is, Carol. Come on, Scar. Getting back to the hotel to fix the bar alibi. Back when, eh? Now, hurry up. Yeah, it's a good thing we left our horses out there, can you? Johnny, why did you have to come back? Open up. Hello? Hello. Is Janet McLean here? Won't you come in, Mr. Donovan? Where is she? Haven't you got anything to say to me? Well, I got your message. I came as fast as I could. Where's Janet? Is that all you can say? Of course that's all. What is this? A trick of some kind? Well, you might tell me a little bit about her. Are you going to get married? What business is that of yours? You don't have to feel that way about it. We could still be friends. Still be friends? Are you loco? Not anymore. I guess I was for a while, but I'm getting over it. I'm getting over it awful fast. Why don't you sit down for a minute and have a drink? You answer me just one question. Is Janet McLean here or isn't she? Do you see her? There's another room. Well? No. I knew this was a trick. I knew it the minute I saw your face. What would a girl like Janet have to do with someone like... That's enough. A gun. You're going to be sorry you said that, mister. I can understand part of it. You think I had something to do with you being ambushed. I don't blame you for being sore. That part of it's all right. But nobody's going to talk to me like I'm dirt and get away with it. No, no. Wait a minute. There's something wrong here. For the first time, Johnny, I'm going to be glad to pull this trigger. Why, you... You called me Johnny. I apologize, Mr. Donovan. But I'm not Johnny. I'm his brother, Ted. What? It's my turn to apologize. I didn't realize you were a friend of Johnny's. But do you mean to say, hasn't anybody told you that Johnny's dead? It's true. I can see it now. But you're so much alike. We were twins. Now, steady there. I'm all right. It's just to lose hope and then hope again and find out after all. But you were going to shoot me. My call to turn. I was jealous. You were in love with Johnny then. Yeah. I see. Maybe you'll be glad to know this. I'm not going to rest until I find the men who killed him. It's better for you to go home and forget all about it. Can you do that? It isn't the same. You want those crooks to get off scot-free? I... No. No, I don't. I can't. That's all there is to it. They've got to pay. I'll find them and I'll... I'll help you, Ted. You what? I'll help you. And you're going to be mighty surprised at the help I can give. Lodge. Did Donovan get the message I left for him? For sure. I had to tell him how to get to Carol's house. But he left about 15 minutes ago. You had to tell him. Quiet. It's mighty funny. Johnny's old girl and Ted's girl getting together that-a-way. Ted's girl, you say? Sure. He and Janet's going to get married pronto. Hey, let me get this straight. Who is this Ted? Ted Donovan. Johnny's brother. You know the fellow he left the message for. So Johnny had a brother. A dead ringer for him. If you knew Johnny, you couldn't miss the resemblance. Don't forget, I didn't have a look at him. Well, just stick around. We can't do that tonight. Come on, Scott. Brother. Why didn't you find out what his first name was? You saw him out here on the porch. You didn't bother to ask any questions. Well, did you? This way, back to Carol's. Hey, what if she's grilled him already? I hope she has, but she won't. Talking to him face to face, it wouldn't take her long to find out the truth. And I don't trust her. Come on. That's it up ahead, isn't it? Yes. We'll stop there first. You wear masks? That can't be helped. I'll answer for it. Come on, Silver. Head around. Let's take it. That's the whole truth, Ted. I swear it. I didn't have anything to do with the ambush. And as for the rest of it, well, you'd have to know a lot more about the Black Arrow to understand how you can get mixed up in it without really wanting to. You must feel bad enough, Carol. You're getting punished for your part in it. I am. So they wanted him to smuggle rifles to the Indians. And he wouldn't. I thought he could say yes or no, and that's all there'd be to it. Well, it doesn't interest me much what led up to it. Mike Rafford, he killed my brother. Ted, you promised. You promised you'd go to the sheriff. He can't shoot any straighter than I can. No, you've got to listen to me. There's nobody in Wyoming got a faster draw than Mike. It's my job. Just tell me where I can find him. I was with him all the time. You'd end up the same way Johnny did. Where can I find him? Howdy, Carol. Mike. I want you to meet Johnny's twin brother. This is Ted Donovan. Where's Ted Donovan? You're masked. It's all right. This is the Lone Ranger. Is Ted here? I know, Miss McLean. He went after you. After me? Where? Carol's place. Mike Rafford brought a message. You were there and wanted to see him alone. Mike Rafford. Where is this place? Are you talking about a cafe? No, it's her home. I don't know where that is. Good. Come on. Miss McLean, your paw's been looking for you. We can't stop. This is a matter of life and death. What's the matter, Carol? You seem to be kind of nervous. Why don't you sit down? I... I'm not nervous. Shut the door, Scar. Here. You're standing right in my way, Carol. I can't see Donovan's face. I want you to get things straight. It isn't Johnny. It's Ted. Hadn't you... Hadn't you better leave? Get out of the way. Go ahead, Carol. I thought so. You've been talking too much, haven't you? No. I always knew you were soft, and now you've double-crossed us. You're the one who's talking too much. Well, maybe so. I won't waste any more time. If you don't get out of the way, I'll shoot you first and him next. What happens then? They'd hang you, sure. You'd never get away with it. It's his life or mine, and you know it. Look, Mike. Without me, he hasn't got any proof. Can we make a deal? Let him go, and I promise... I swear I won't say anything. There's only one way I can be sure of that. All right, then. Go ahead and kill me, but let him go. One murder's as good as another, as far as he's concerned. If I killed you in front of him, he could turn me in for that. Tie him up. Leave him here. Take me with you, and they'll... You can't make any proposition like that with me around. Stand aside, and I'll shoot it out with him. You wouldn't have a chance. Here goes, Carol. Mike, there's somebody outside. The lamp. They're shot the lamp out. Get out, Ted. Up with your hands, Mike. It's the lone range in the doorway. Let him have it. I got him. I saw him fall. No, no, he ain't there now. He ducked into the room. He's coming toward us. Keep your back to the wall. Shoot wherever you hear a sound. And you're making a lot of noise yourself. Over there. Do you hear anything? Nope. He must be done for. That's what I've been waiting for. What does it call me? Mike! Don't shoot, Scar. You might hit me. He's got my arm, so I can't move him. But I've got a gun hand free for you, Scar. No, no, don't. Don't shoot. Let's hear your gun hit the floor. There. Ted, where are you? I'm afraid he's unconscious. I pushed him down when the shooting started, and I think he hit his head on the table. How about another lamp? I'm lighting one now. Here you are. All right, Tonto. Tie these two up. I don't know. I'm trying to do that. Ted, are you hurt? I don't think so. Just my head. I'll help you stand up. If you turn us over to the sheriff, you've got to jail her, too. I'm ready to go. Did you help plan Johnny Donovan's murder? No. But I've been working for the Black Arrow. You can't put her in jail. It's her evidence. It'll send these two to the gallows. Are you willing to give it? More than willing. Will you help the government against the Black Arrow? Oh, I can. She won't live to do it. Yes, she will. Get them moving, Tonto. We're heading for the sheriff's office. Oh, you come with me. What did you tell them, Carol? I can't answer that. But it was all I knew. Certainly me, the masked man and Tonto leave in a hurry. Just look at them ride. I hope they get there in time. Is it a long way? Yes. And the odds will be against them. That won't matter. Not even if they were a hundred to one. My bets are on the Lone Ranger. Whatever you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.
