A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty hi-yo silver. The Lone Ranger. ...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. Go on, the tail of the black girl. Oh, Silver. Holy! The marshal was furiously angry at what he considered carelessness, negligence. He paced the floor of the sheriff's office, expressing himself in no uncertain terms. Well, brained, walking in their sleep. I've still got to be convinced there wasn't bribery and conniving, then. Well, that's a strong charge. Strong, eh? Well, I'll use stronger language before I'm through. Never in all my years as a United States Marshal have seen a man slip away as complete and easy as Sidney Drake. What'll I tell the Lone Ranger? Oh, golly, I don't know. What can I tell them? I don't know. Sheriff, you'll listen to me. Well, I am. You know what the Lone Ranger went through to get the goods on, Drake. You don't answer me. I'll tell you. He went to jail. He risked his life. He covered in a split hair, being hung, to get proof from those killers that Drake was a head man in the black air. And he got it, didn't he? Well, yeah, I reckon so. And then what? He was going to make Drake tell where the headquarters was located. All you had to do was hold Drake in jail. Just hold him, that's all. Now what happens? Drake slips out, escapes. Hang it all, what's the use? I swear I didn't do it a purpose. That man's clever, he's slick. He's like a ghost or something. And hang it, he even looks like one. Let me line my sights on him and I'll make him a ghost. Here, I'm to meet the Lone Ranger tonight and try to make Drake talk. Drake is gone. Marshal, I tell you... Stop talking. I don't want to hear you. If only we had an inkling of where the headquarters is. Marshal. Yeah? The Lone Ranger. I can hear you talking. Drake has escaped. How did that happen? Ask him. The guard made a mistake, that's all. Drake told him he had something to whisper. The guard went close to the bars and the jail door. Drake reached out and choked the guard senseless and then took the keys from his pocket. How long has he been out? Long enough to get away. The guard didn't come to for some time. When he did, he couldn't find me to tell me about until a few minutes ago. Yeah, we scoured the town, but Drake is gone. Well, come on. Let me have it. Let you have what? The Marshal's lambasted me. Now you may as well tell me what you think of me. I reckon I got it coming. I don't think any great harm has been done. We hoped Drake would tell where the headquarters is. But I don't think he could have been made to talk. No, maybe not. Drake wasn't the kind that gives in. I have a general idea where the headquarters is. You have? Here, take a look at this wall map. I'll draw a circle on it. The headquarters is somewhere inside that circle. Jumpin' Juniper. Do you know what you circled? Yes, Marshal. The big forest in the country north of it. North of the big forest is a high cliff. And the forest itself covers mountains and valleys and streams and gullies. Well, a whole army could hide there. An outlaw army has hidden there. And for all we know, the headquarters may be north of the forest. Somewhere beyond the cliff. Well, we can organize a posse to search the forest. Men from town won't be of help to us. They might walk right over a trail and never see it. And who are you going to? We need men who know the woods and the trail signs. But where are you going to get? We need men who can make a broken twig tell a story. Men with eyes so keen that they can follow a trail no matter how difficult. They must be men without fear. They must find the trail and be ready to fight to a successful end no matter what the odds. I don't know who you can get there. There are men like that. Around here? How about Bill Coley? Well, a man like this. Bill Hickok. Well, sure, but I... Dan Jergen. Arizona Pete. Jim Sherman. If you could get one or two like that. We'll have all of them. And others equally experienced. Those men helped when we first started on the campaign to smash the black arrow. They're ready. Glad to write again when they got the call. Can you find them? Yes, Sheriff. Hello. Are you ready? We're starting out. Yes, Silver. Let me know when you need me. I'm ready. I will. Did you hear those names, Sheriff? I heard them. There never was such a pack of hard-fighting men brought together in the history of the West. Ready, boy. Let's go, Tonto. Get him up, scound. Come, Silver. Come, way. For the first few miles, the Lone Ranger and Tonto rode together. Then they took different directions, each knowing where he headed and whom he sought. Get him up, scound. Get him up. The steady pound of hoops sustained throughout the hours of darkness. Come on, Silver. At dawn, a rancher and his wife went to their door at the sound of approaching hoofbeats. Well, look, Ma. The horse is snow white. Ready. Tell Bill Cody to meet me in Grand Pass. Cody. Come on, Silver. The morning activity of an Indian village was halted by the sudden arrival of Tonto on his strong paint horse. Shit on the cloud. Halt will go high. Grand Pass. Get him up, scound. Come on. The Lone Ranger and Tonto rode all day and part of the night that followed, spreading the word in ever-expanding circles to reach remote places in the hills and valleys. Then one at a time, men rode into town, strong, grim-faced men, some of them in buckskins, men whose keen eyes missed nothing, woodsmen, planesmen, hunters, and scouts whose lives depended on eternal vigilance, pioneers and Indians who were ready to assemble at the word of the Lone Ranger. Meanwhile, Sidney Drake had gone through the big forest to the cliff that bounded on the north. He passed through a narrow cleft from the sheer wall of rock to a hidden valley, a sort of basin which was surrounded by cliffs. At the far end of this, Drake entered a vast cave. He identified himself to the men in the cave and then... Which of you is named Carver? My name's Carver. And who are you? Me? I'm called Strangler Grimes. Grimes? I'm in charge of what are left to us. How many are left? Well, do you know how the Black Arrow organization was set up? There was about 150 men that wore the tattoo mark. Each of them was in charge of a separate gang. Yes, I know. Each gang worked as a unit. Some gangs were made up of savage Indians. Others of ranchers and other people who had been won over to our cause. But how many are left? We've got about 50 men here in the cave right now. We can bring 40 or 50 more here in a couple of hours' time. Close to 100 men, all told. About that. Good enough. We'd had a lot more if it hadn't been for the Lone Ranger. He's made a plenty of trouble for us. He fixed a couple of traps, or the whole army was again. It's capturing our men by the dozen. The Lone Ranger's going to learn a few things about traps. He's got out of every trap we've fixed so far. Well, he's playing right into our hands now. How's that, Mr. Drake? He's getting a group of men to come into the woods south of here and search for the trail that leads to our headquarters. Yes, they won't find this hideout in five years of hunting. Grimes, it's that sort of reasoning that has made you fail. What do you mean? You think this place can't be found. If it were found, you'd be unprepared. Oh, but how can you... I know the type of men the Lone Ranger will have helping him. They're men who will not miss the slightest clue. Any one of them might find this place. Well, what can we do about it? Take advantage of our opportunity. That's what we can do about it. The Lone Ranger's bringing together every man in this part of the country who's dangerous to us. An outfit like that would be tough to beat. It will, if we're unprepared. But let's assume they will find this hideout. Let's plan on their finding it. And in one stroke, wipe out all our dangerous enemies. How? A trap. Huh? The Lone Ranger wants to find this cave. Well, he's got to find the opening in the cliff and find the valley first. He'll find the opening in the cliff and the valley and the cave. I'll see to that. And we'll plan a hot reception for him. Not only for the Lone Ranger, but also for every man he has chosen to help him fight us. Golly, if we could clean them all out, we'd have clear sailing. We could repair the damage the Lone Ranger has done to our organization. Then nothing would stop our march to success. But if he finds our valley in the cave, he'll figure on fighting a lot of us, won't he? That's where the planning comes in. I'll make the Lone Ranger think he has only a few men to face. We'll let him capture those few and think we're conquered. Then, overwhelming. The Lone Ranger divided his men into pairs and assigned each pair a route to follow through the forest. And just as he and Tonto were about to start on their own route, a note was handed to the masked man. I picked this up when we were searching the hotel room where Drake had stayed. It's addressed to the Lone Ranger, so I brought it to you. Thanks, Marshal. Well, it's the same handwriting. Eh? I don't suppose you saw the girl who left this note. I didn't know it was the girl that left it. I just found it there. Hmm. I can't figure this out. It won't change your plans? No. Come along, Tonto. Goodbye, Marshal. Goodbye. And luck to you. So go slowly, Tonto. Take no chance on missing a track in the woods. Ah. We watch. Plenty close. The other men will do the same. We all move at about the same pace. We'll keep within gunshot of the men on our left. When we or anyone else finds a trail, three shots will signal the others. The signal will be relayed all the way through the woods. Ah. Your note come from the same girl? Yes, Kimo Sabe. The same girl. I wonder what she means. Why did she send me this message? The days that followed were uneventful. Well, the lone ranger and Tonto went through the woods until the cliffs on the north obstructed them. And they recrossed the forest at a slight angle, constantly alert with the slightest sign of a trail. Maybe Drake not go through woods at all. I'm sure he did, Tonto. I'm also sure that Drake wouldn't have the ability to hide his tracks the way the other members of the Black Arrow do. Ah. We keep on hunt. I can't help wondering why the mysterious girl sent me that message when we started out. Where message now? Here, in the secret compartment of my ring. You keep it, Pair? Yes. I don't want to lose it. It must have some significance. Ah. I'll read this to you, Tonto. In Sidney Drake's room, there were makeup materials such as actors use. Drake may be skilled in the use of disguise. That all? That's all the message says. Well, if Drake leaves stuff in room, he's not got it now. He may have some makeup material with him, but it wouldn't matter. No. Makeup on his face wouldn't hide his footprints. We're looking for footprints. That's right. If we find a man who doesn't resemble Drake, we can make sure it isn't Drake in disguise. That may be why the girl sent this message to us. Yet, Tonto, I can't get rid of the feeling that there is... Silver, what is it? Someone ahead. Come on. There, in those bushes. Let me see him. Steady, Silver, steady. Pull the gun on him, Tonto. Let me get him. I'll have a look. Help me. You're covered. Come out of those bushes. In the name of goodness, help me. Help me. Why, it's Sidney Drake. But Tonto, what's happened to him? The Lone Ranger will find Drake all right, Grimes. You needn't worry about that. I guess you're right at that, Carver. Drake will fix it so as the Lone Ranger will find him. And when that masked man does find him, it'll be the beginning of the end for the Lone Ranger. 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. The Lone Ranger and Tonto examine Sidney Drake, whom they found badly bruised and battered, with clothing torn by thorns and brambles in the underbrush. There's no serious injury, Tonto. No bones broken. No. Plenty scratch and plenty bruised. That all went wrong. And weak, barely conscious. Probably from lack of food and water. Maybe he got lost and couldn't find the headquarters of his men. Here, Drake. Water. Follow some more water. You're not badly hurt. Help me. Where have you been? What happened to you? Men in cave. Double-crossed me. Won't trust me. You're on man, huh? I just managed to escape. So you've been to a cave. The headquarters of your Black Arrow. Water. More water. Here you are. Now, Tonto, we'll signal the others. And if the members of the Black Arrow hear the signal, they can consider it the opening gun of the last battle. Three shots. The signal. East of us. That means the Lone Ranger's found the trail. Relay the signal. Three shots. The signal. East of here. Come on. Mount up while I pass the word with gunfire. Shots rang through the woods as each band of hunters heard the signal and then fired. The end of a long search at hand, hard-riding men broke through the woods, heading for the meeting with the Lone Ranger. You got one of them, huh? Great work. He came from the cave. We can follow his back trail. Good. We passed the word. The others are coming. But what about all the gunfire? Want to put the crooks on guard? Let them know we're coming. It won't matter. Now, keep away from Drake. I don't want him to know how many men we have. If he thinks we have more than we really have, so much the better. Here comes Bill Hickok. Oh, there. Oh, now. Oh, boy. Here we are. How soon can we start the fireworks? Before sunset, the men were assembled apart from the place where Drake had been tied. Tonto returned from a survey of the trail and reported to the Lone Ranger. He must have a trail plenty clear. Good. You think we'll be able to follow it all the way? Tonto thinks so. We still have about two hours before darkness. Maybe we can finish this job tonight. You can finish it. What? I know when I'm beating you. You might as well know all I can tell you. We don't need your help, Drake. But if you're conquered by the men in the headquarters, in the cave, I'll die too. I'd sooner take my chance in court. I want to help you. Maybe the law will be lenient with me. I'd like to untie your hands and call on you to shoot it out. But I expect you'd be too yellow for that. Bill, I want you and Tonto to keep Drake between you. I'll go first. You follow right behind me. The others will come after you. It'll be just as well if Drake doesn't know the size of our group. He might yell a warning to the others. Right. In fact, that might be the reason he's here. You've got the right idea, Lone Ranger. Don't take any chances at all with a pool cat. But I want to... You shut up. What you want doesn't count. Get going. The band advanced until it reached the north edge of the forest, where the steep cliff rose to form a sheer background for the trees. To everyone's surprise, there was a narrow cleft in this wall of rock. Beyond the cleft, there was a valley, a regular basin walled by cliffs with trees at the base. Never knew such a thing as this was here. I always thought that this was table land. A regular lost valley. It's like a basin, guards, right out of the cliffs. The Lone Ranger continued along Drake's back trail, which led among the trees that were thick at the edge of the basin. Meanwhile, Drake was secretly well-pleased. The plan was working perfectly. Following my back trail to the cave, they'll be thrown completely off guard. They'll walk right into the trap. The cave of the Black Arrow opened in the far end of the basin-like valley. Nearly a hundred men were there, listening to Grimes. We've got to check up and make dead sure everyone understands the plans. Drake will bring those men here, just as he said. He'll get the Lone Ranger to listen to them, and he'll make believe to squeal. He'll tell the Lone Ranger about men lying in wait in the brushwood near the mouth of this cave. And the Lone Ranger's men will capture those men? That's it. They'll think they got all of us. Then come in here to search the cave. When they're all inside, we open fire. Keep back against the wall. I'll give you the word to open fire. A hundred rifles blasting at one time will sure make the lead fly thick. Get ready now. The Lone Ranger walked ahead through the trees at the edge of the valley. Drake was kept between Tonto and the man in buckskins, while the rest of the grim-faced men followed in single file. During the march, the masked man still wondered about Sidney Drake. Yeah, Drake will make a wonder why Drake had it. We never used it to our knowledge. I can't get rid of the feeling that it's important. Something seems to keep telling me. Lone Ranger. What do you want, Drake? If you keep going, you'll be defeated by those men at the cave. They're expecting you. They've got a trap for you. You'll have to take chances on their trap. But those killers will get me again. They'll kill me. I don't know how many men you have, but no matter how many, it won't be enough. We know we're going against odds. Now, wait a minute. Don't go any nearer until you listen to me. Odds don't matter. The fact is, you only have to face five or six men. But they're ready. They're ready. Drake, I wouldn't believe anything you said. But you must see that my life is at stake. Would I lie to you now? Signal to halt, Tonto. Wait up. Now, let me tell you. You can easily find out if I tell the truth. Let me tell how the five men plan to get all of you. Go ahead, Drake. But talk fast. You say there are just five men at the cave? Five or six at the most. The Black Arrow has been all over the West. There must be hundreds of members with that tattoo mark on their wrists. There are only five or six in the cave. Where are the rest? Maybe I can explain that. Go ahead, Cody. Each of these divisional leaders of the Black Arrow had his own gang. Now, lots of the men that worked with the leaders weren't really bad. They were just plain folks who were misled by what the Black Arrow meant. Others were forced to help by threats against their families. Yes, I know that. Most of the people who helped the leaders would go back to their farms and ranches, as they should. But we want all the divisional leaders. You overestimated the number. Listen to me. Those men count on you rushing the cave at the trail's end. They're not in the cave. They're waiting in ambush near the entrance. They are? You can prove this. You can come up behind them and catch them. That will prove I'm telling the truth. Did the five men think they could get all of us? Yes. They figured on setting off a blast when you were at the entrance of the cave. I wonder if the polecat is telling the truth this time. You've nothing to lose by checking what I said. Very well. There's water there. You men stay and let the horses drink. Cody. Yes? You and Hickok come with Tonto and me. We'll find out about those men in ambush. In feet that made no sound, the quartet crept up behind five men hidden in the brushwood near the mouth of the cave. It was hard for the Lone Ranger to believe that Drake at last was speaking truthfully. But the evidence was there before him. He raised his hand to signal Tonto and the others and then called... Take them! Get your hands up! We're trapped! They caught us from behind! We can't run! Don't you? Don't you? Don't you? Don't you? Drake's wheel on us, a dirty snake! Get the ropes and go back to the others. Now we'll be able to search that cave. Get going, you crooks! You can hang alongside of Drake! Get going! On your way! Inside the cave, Grimes whispered... All slick and according to the plan. Now, boys, be ready. They'll be coming here to the cave in a few minutes. Got all five of them without firing a shot. Great work. Now we can see what that cave holds and learn all about the Black Arrow. That's right, that's right. While the friends of the Lone Ranger made sure the prisoners were securely tied to trees, the masked man stood apart. Something vague, intangible, kept gnawing in his mind. He couldn't rid himself of a peculiar feeling of apprehension. There must be something. It was too simple, too complete. Drake squealing, capturing those men. Five men. The Black Arrow is stronger than that. The Lone Ranger toyed with the ring on his finger. Thinking of the girl's note of warning he kept in the secret compartment. Makeup in the hotel room. Theatrical makeup. Never used it. Drake is a far-setted schemer. Kimo Sabe. Now all men tied to tree. We search cave. I don't know, Tonto. How about it, Lone Ranger? There's nothing to hold us back, is there? I guess not. You've got them all now. Now they can't murder me. You can get all the evidence from the cave. I'll take my chance in court. Wait. Tonto, take Drake to that stream of water. Wash his face and wash it good. No, no. The bruises. The cuts and scratches. Rub it and scrub it hard. No, no, don't let him. It's inhuman. What's the idea of that? Cody, I don't think Drake was beaten by his own men. He didn't run from them to save his life at all. He wasn't injured as badly as he tried to make us think. He recovered his strength too quickly. How about it, Tonto? Bruise and scratch or wash off? Sure enough. Look, Drake's not hurt at all. He wanted us to find him, Cody. He wanted us to follow his back trail and find that cave. He wanted us to trust him and tried to win our trust by telling of the ambush. But he told the truth. Why? So we would go to that cave not looking for more men. He wanted us off guard. I think there are more men inside that cave. Lots more men. All of the Black Arrow. Bill fires. Smudge fires. Lots of them. We'll send so much smoke into that cave that they'll have to come out of there. In no time, great fires were built. Huge clouds of smoke rolled into the cavern, choking and strangling the outlaws. I can't stand it. I'm going to have a hand. Let me out. Boys, we've got to make a rush. It's our only chance. Get your guns in. We'll rush that bunch. Let them have it, boys. There's the Black Arrow. It took but a few moments for the crooks to realize that their fight was a hopeless one. Half blinded by smoke, they were quick to throw down their guns and try. We do not stop shooting. We've got them. We've got them mixed. Come on out of your guns and come forward with your hands up. Drake double-crossed us, the dirty schemer. He squealed at us. Fire crimes. Quiet my eye. You won't talk yourself into getting a light term. Listen to me. Drake is one of the six men that directed the hold of the Black Arrow. There's five more of them. If Drake is going to get off easy, I am, too. I'm too crazy, fool. Be quiet. I won't. You listen to me. I'll name the others. Kimberly, the railroad man, is one. Webster, the fur trader, is another. And there's Steel, the cattle man. Bachelor, the gold syndicate. And Page, the army contractor. Get them, too. You'll find proof against each one of them inside that cave. Got those men tied. We sure will. Where are you going? Here, Silver. I'm going to get the sheriff and bring him here with wagons to carry everything away from that cave. This is the end of the Black Arrow. Steady, boy. Fire, Silver. Away. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated. The Lone Ranger Incorporated.
