A fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty hi-ho silver, the Lone Ranger. When the first railroads were built into the western United States, the engineers and men were faced with the constant danger of attack by outlaws and Indians, and their task might never have been accomplished had it not been for the masked rider of the plains. It was his strength and courage, his daring and resourcefulness that blazed the trail for progress and finally made possible the winning of the West. 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 the canyon. There's going to be trouble. Oh, Silver, holly! The advanced construction camp of the new southern and western railroad was 50 miles beyond the railhead town of Warren City. 50 miles farther on, Cowago Canyon cut across the right of way. And three, four, five miles a day, the gleaming rails were creeping toward it. Jim Harreld was in charge of constructing the bridge across the canyon. And one night he rode out of the camp and headed across the plain toward his own headquarters. A mile to the west, he was hailed from the side of the trail. Harreld! What the... Rain up! Oh, boy, whoa, whoa. Whoa there, whoa. Who is it? Steady, nice silver. Steady, boy, steady. A masked man and an engine. I don't go for your gun. What do you want? I haven't got any money on me. Now, this isn't a hold-up. You know Matt Kirby, don't you? Sure. You may have mentioned this ring I'm wearing. A ring? Yes, here. Say, is there a secret compartment in this? I'll show you how it works. Yeah. Well, then... then you must be the Lone Ranger. That's right. What do you want? We've had a message from a girl who's helped us out a great deal. John Kimberly is somewhere near your camp. Ah. Does... does that mean anything to you? Not much. I know who Kimberly is, of course. Do you know what he is? Hmm? I'd better explain. He's trying to slow up the building of the railroad. You see, if it isn't completed to Junction City by the 1st of October, and Warren and Miles will lose their government subsidy and go bankrupt. But the 1st of October is a long way off. Yeah, so is Junction City. Kimberly wants to own the Southern and Western. And he may try to interfere with the building of your bridge. How can he? Well, in the same way he tried to stop supplies from getting through to Warren City. I've got all the supplies I need. The last wagon's left for camp this morning. Well, uh, how about your men? Oh, I've got a fine crew. Nearly all of the men have worked for me before. Nearly all? Well, the men are all right. Nobody's going to make trouble in our camp. How about you? And what if something happened to you? The work would go on. Maybe not quite so fast, but my son Bob's a fine engineer. And Jeremy Stewart can handle the men. You, uh, you realize, of course, that no tracks can be laid beyond the canyon until that bridge has been finished. Oh, I know how important it is that we get finished on time. But you don't have to worry. With Kimberly around, we all have to worry. Well, thanks for the warning. I'll keep a sharp lookout for trouble. There won't be nothing surprises. You watch out on trail back to camp. Sure thing, Injun. I'll be on guard. Is that all you want of me? I just wanted to warn you, Harold. Oh, thanks. Drop in at the camp sometime. Always glad to see you. You may be seeing us soon. Good. So long, then. Adios, Harold. Him not pay much attention. Not listen to warning. Yes, he listened, Tonto. But I don't think he realizes how dangerous Kimberly is. Maybe next time you meet Kimberly, you put him in jail, huh? We almost got him the last time. Now he'll be more careful than ever. That's right. Tonto, we're going to follow Jim Harold. That's a good idea. Come on, Silver. Get him up. Come. As the Lone Ranger and Tonto rode after Jim Harold, two men met at the base of the steep walls of Keuago Canyon. One of them was Kimberly. His face was hidden by a bandana and a broad-brimmed hat pulled low. The other was a huge man with broad shoulders and a heavy beard. It was Kimberly who spoke first. It's about time you got here. I began to think you didn't get my message. I got here as soon as I could, but I... Hey, what's the idea of holding a six-gun on me? Just to keep things peaceful. I wanted to have a talk with you, uh, Butch. Butch? You got me wrong. My name was Sawyer. Pete Sawyer. Your name's Butch Rankin as far as I'm concerned. And letting your beard grow doesn't change it. Hey, Seve. So you know who I am. Now what? You were smart taking an honest job with the construction gang, Butch. They'd never think of looking for you here. Everyone thinks I'm Pete Sawyer. If you follow my lead, they can keep on thinking that. And you can keep on being safe. At the same time, you can make yourself some easy money. We won't beat around the bush. I'll pay $100 for every day the construction job is held up. That could count up two important money. It, uh, depends on you. But how do I know you're on the level? Take off that bandana and let me have a look at your face. Who are you, anyway? That's none of your business. I'll give you $100 right now. Here. You can call it expense. Well, thanks. But I'd like to know who I'm doing business with. In this case, it's impossible. You've heard my proposition. You can either accept it or, uh... Or you'll turn me over to the law. Exactly. What's your answer? It's a deal. You got any ideas about what I should do? The ideas must be yours. But I could suggest one thing. What? Jim Harrell's in charge. If he were to be, uh, eliminated... Uh-huh. But he ain't in camp right now. He should be back by tomorrow morning. Tomorrow morning early. That might, uh, be a good time. Might be. I only have one warning. Yeah? Did you ever hear of a man they call the Lone Ranger? Hear of him? He sent a pal of mine to jail. Do you know him by sight? I'd know that horse of his, anyway. Well, you, uh, you may have a chance to get even, Butch. The Lone Ranger wants his bridge finished just as much as I want it delayed. If you do see him, I'd, uh... I'd suggest you shoot to kill. Just before dawn, a heavy mist rolled out of the canyon and over the country toward the east. The Lone Ranger and Tonto rode slowly along the trail. They were unable to see Jim Harrell, but they knew he must be nearing the Camp Corral. Sun will be up in another hour, Tonto. This mist will start clearing away. Ah. We'll find a place where we can camp for a few days. Do not ride on to... Otto. A shot come from that way. Near the corral, rain up. The white stallion and the paint, obedient to their riders, stopped and stood motionless. In the gray mist, the Lone Ranger stood in his stirrups, keen eyes searching the shadows ahead. Beside him, Tonto rested his hands on the saddle horn, leaned forward, straining to pierce the gloom. The corral loomed vague and almost formless in the mist. Horses and riders waited tensely. Since the distance shot, there had not been a sound. The second stretched, lengthened. Then suddenly... Horse come. You hear it? There he is. Miss Harrell. No rider. That isn't Harrell's horse. No, him right gray. Come on, Silver. Get him up. At the command, Silver and Scout raced forward, nostrils flaring in the fog that swirled around them. Sure-footed as mountain lions, they galloped unerringly down the slight grade toward the corral. The Lone Ranger's right hand hung at his side, the fingers close to his holster, ready for action. This time, his eyes pierced the gloom first. There's the gray, right at the opening of the corral. Where's Harrell? Steady, Silver. Steady, Silver. Don't go. Somebody on the ground. Yes, I'm afraid it's... Yes, Jim Harrell. Ah, and that bad wound. He's unconscious. Time to try to fix him. Men are coming from the bunkhouse. We aren't known here, Kimo Sabe. This may lead to trouble. I heard the shot, then I heard somebody right away. I heard the same thing. Hard to tell, and it's best, but it sounded like it came from the... Hey, what then? Are you Bob Harrell? Yeah. Who are you? It was your father who was hurt. Not who was bandaging the wound. Bullet catch him in shoulder. Now that you're here, we'll leave him in your care. That's a first. The mace went in an inch of Bob. It must have been them that did the shooting. Now you're mistaken. Jim knows who we are. He'll tell you when he regains consciousness. In the meantime, I think... In the meantime, you'll stay right where you are. I'm sorry, Bob. That draw. We're leaving. Out up, Toto. Ah. Steady, boy. Go on, Silver. Get him up. I'll let you wait before Bob. Say the word. We'll class mother's settled. Go to it. Come on, Silver. Three days passed. Jim Harrell had not regained consciousness. But the work on the bridge was directed by Bob and Jeremy Stewart. It was nearly ten o'clock in the evening. The two men were in the cabin that served as an office, checking the day's progress and planning ahead. Now, the way I figure it, we'll have to start laying the foundations on the far side of the canyon tomorrow. I wonder. What's there to wonder about? Oh, I wasn't thinking about the bridge, Jeremy. Well, stop wool gathering. Get to work. Look, you're the only engineer we got, and if you don't work out the technical problems, nobody can. That may be, but if you weren't here to handle a man, we wouldn't get anywhere. All right. Let's get this settled before we break our arms, patting ourselves on the back. I'm still wondering. What about? Just before I came over here, I was sitting beside Paul. He's still unconscious, of course, but his lips were moving. I leaned real close to see if I could pick up what he was saying. Well? It sounded like a lone ranger. A lone ranger? Yeah. We've all taken it for granted it was that masked man who shot Paul, but if he was the lone ranger, he couldn't have done it. It might have been anyone. Don't you see what that would mean, Jeremy? We heard a horse galloping away. The man that rode that horse, or maybe... Who's there? Sally Martin. It's a girl. Yeah, Sally Martin. She owns a Barham ranch to the north. We'll do something about it. Let her... Never mind, I'll do it. Good evening. Good evening. Gosh. What? Oh, I'm sorry. I just never expected to see a girl like you out here in the wilderness. This happens to be my home range. Are you Mr. Stewart? No, but he's just inside. Won't you come in? Thank you. Jeremy, the young lady wants to see you. Yeah, that's so. This envelope is yours, isn't it? Well, I'm sure enough got my name on the outside, but I don't serve him. Neither do I. Good night, gentlemen. Oh, now, now, wait. Won't you sit down and visit for a while? I'm sorry. I'm in a hurry. Good night. Jeremy. Get up. Get up, sir. Did you ever see anything so pretty in your life? You sure have all the luck. Now, why couldn't she have come to see me instead of you? Read this. Sure. You might as well know there's $500 in this envelope. Jeremy. Do you believe what's in that note, or do you believe in me? You don't have to ask that question, but we've got to find out more about this. I'm going after that girl. What could she have to do with it? I'm going to find out. I'm with you. This note is nothing but a lie. No sooner had Bob and Jeremy ridden away than the Lone Ranger slipped into the cabin. He picked up the note that Bob had thrown to the floor and read it. This is for shooting Jim Harrell. You'll get the rest when you finish the job. Now, what could Sally Martin have to do with this? I'll take that note. What's that? I got you covered. Reach for the ceiling. 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. At the command from Butch, the Lone Ranger raised his arms and turned slowly toward the door. Then... I suppose you figured you were going after Bob and Jeremy. You must know what's in this note. What if I do? It explains a lot of things. I, uh... I've seen you before. Sure. The night you shot Jim Harrell. You're the one who shot Jim Harrell. You think so? You shot him and then you took your quirt to that riderless horse. So he'd gallop away into the night. Why should I do a thing like that? Because you had no idea that Tonto and I would be riding up. You wanted the men in camp to think some outsider had done the shooting. You got it all figured out, haven't you? Wasn't hard. For getting a good look at your face. You think you know me? I'm sure of it. Butch. That's good. I want you to know who I am. Because when I pull this trigger, I'll be getting even for Joe. Why don't you look me in the eye? Why don't you? But the Lone Ranger was watching the outlaw's knuckles. Watching for the first faint whitening that would indicate he was about to pull the trigger. It came. The masked man dropped like a flash, throwing himself forward at the same time Butch fired. The shot went wide by a fraction. There was no time for a second shot. Spalled on top of the outlaw, the Lone Ranger held his wrist in a grip of steel. Backward farther and farther he forced it until the gun clattered to the floor. Both men were on their feet in an instant, but this time the weapons were bare fists. The Lone Ranger matched Butch's power with the speed and precision of his blows. Outside he could hear the men from the camp, aroused to the shot and heading to the cabin. He picked an opening and lashed out with a right. Butch staggered back against the door. Swiftly, the Lone Ranger leveled his guns. Butch was shoved aside as the men crashed through. Don't let me have you move. I'm going out this window. The first man who follows me stops living. Don't stand there. Get after him. Go on. He's heading south. That's the man who shot Jim Hill. Come on. Come on. To the south. Good. Me, I'm heading for the Bar M Ranch, and I'll get there before Bob and Jeremy. Easy, boy. Easy. Hello. How are you, Kimberly? How are you? Jim Harrell's men are on my trail. Get away from here before they arrive. Ah, me hear them. I led them away from the camp so you'd have a chance to circle back there and look at Jim. He's still unconscious. Ah. Here, Scout. You may be able to do more for him in five minutes than they have in three days. That's where you go now. I'll shake off these men, then ride to the Bar M Ranch. Come on. Get him up, Scout. Is this the ranch house we're coming to, Jeremy? Yeah. The bunkhouse is about a half mile farther on. It's taken us a long time. Must be a shorter trail from the camp. There is, but it's dangerous at night. Oh. Oh, there, boy. Oh. Oh. Hope we'll find out who wrote that note. Maybe you better have your gun ready. Hey, that girl live here all alone? Yeah, since her pa died. Awful funny to me. Don't look like she's going to answer the door. I don't hear anybody inside. Try it. See if it's locked. Oh. Should we go in? Might as well. What's happened here? A cyclone must have struck the place. Yeah. Everything turned upside down. Must have been a fight. I don't know what this proves. Is Sally Martin mixed up with some crooked gang? They've been using this ranch house for a hideout? Whatever happened, it wasn't long ago. Oh, that lamp's still lit and plenty of oil left. I give up, Bob. But I don't. That girl may be in danger. We don't even know. She rode back here after she left camp. Must be something around here to give us a chance. Somebody just rode up. Yeah. Look at that white horse, Jeremy. It's the same one the mask man rode. There he is in the doorway. Where's Sally Martin, Bob? Are you the Lone Ranger? Yes, I am. Where's Sally? We don't know. We just got here. You must have taken the long trail. Yeah, we followed the canyon. That's nearly twice as far. Sally rode back through the woods. And I think Butch Rankin followed her. Butch Rankin? Who's he? One of your men. He's big. He has a black beard. That sounds like Pete Sawyer. His right name is Butch Rankin. And he's wanted by the law. You hear that, Jeremy? And he must be the one who tried to kill Paul. Yeah. He is. What's a girl like Sally Martin got to do with an outlaw? Nothing at all. But she just brought me a letter. And whoever wrote that letter was trying to put the blame for... I know, Jeremy. And I'm glad Bob wasn't fooled by it. The letter was written to cause a misunderstanding between you two. Sally delivered it? That's because the letter was delivered here. Huh? Well, I'm only guessing. But I know that Sally's honest. That's the simplest explanation. The letter was slipped under her door. And when she read the name on the envelope, she wrote over to give it to you. Say, maybe you're right. Yeah, but that doesn't matter. I'm afraid Butch has captured her. Where are you going? The ground's fairly soft. Maybe we can pick up a trail. Then what? Follow it, of course. But why would that crook want to hold Sally a prisoner? For ransom, do you think? More likely to lead you two on. Lead us on? He knew you wanted to talk with Sally. He might be using her to lead you into an ambush. That don't hold water. How would we know she was a prisoner? How would we know which way he'd taken her? If he hasn't left evidence behind, then I'm wrong. I don't say I can figure this out any better, but I think you are. No, Jeremy. Look at the top rail of the corral ahead of us. Piece of paper sticking on a nail. Yes. Let's see if it's a note. Well, sure it is. You won't get a chance to talk to the girl. Don't try to follow us. It's signed, The Claw. The Claw? Butch Rankin wrote this. It's in the same handwriting as the other note. Jeremy, would this stop you from following him if you could find the trail? Leapman Cactus, no. Well, there it is. That's right, Jeremy. It's plain as day. He rode off that way. Here, Silver. We're going with you. No telling how long it will take to follow his trail to the end. You have to be back at camp early to put your men to work. We've got to go with you. It's our fault. The girl's in danger. But your work is important, too. We've got to go. Very well, then. Come on, Jeremy. Keno. Meet the way. Oh, boy. It was just at dawn that Butch reined up in a great circle of rocks at the northernmost end of the canyon. He let the girl, still bound and gagged, down from the saddle, and then dismounted himself. Yes, sir, take that gag out before I start fixing some grub. Sort of lonely with nobody to talk to. Oh, yellow coyote, you'll pay for this. My foreman will be riding up the ranch just about now. You'll find out I'm gone, and pretty soon my whole crew will be after you. They won't be the first. What do you mean? Young Harold and Jeremy Stewart. They ought to be showing up any time now. You mean that young engineer? Yep. What are you after? If it's money you want... I don't see how I can collect any from you, sister. No. The only reason you're here is to lead Mr. Harold straight up to these rocks. You're going to kill him. That's a guess. What the? The Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger. That gag goes back... No, you can't stop me. Oh, steady, Silver. Oh, steady. That scream came from behind those rocks. Yeah. There's a regular circle of them. Might as well be inside a fort. This was the ambush he'd count it on. We'd have ridden straight into it if the girl hadn't screamed. What do we do, charge him? No, we can't take a chance on hitting the girl. Well, we can't just stand here. Quiet, Jeremy. The Lone Ranger's got an idea. You two ride around to the other side of the rocks. I will cut him off if he tries to make a break for it. What do you aim to do? I'm going to walk straight toward the rocks. What's that suicide? You'll have to show part of his body if he wants a shot at me. Be a question of which of us shoots first. Steady, boy. Stay here, Silver. You'll be killed. Get around to the other side of the rocks. Come on, get up there, boy. Get up there. The Lone Ranger walked down toward the rocks, slowly but never faltering. Then when less than a hundred feet remained, the outlaw's gun flashed. Two shots rang out. Butch cried out. The Lone Ranger stopped for a moment, then quietly slumped to the ground. The sun was high overhead when the masked man opened his eyes. Dimly at first, and then more clearly, he could see Jeremy and Bob and the girl grouped around him. Oh, thank goodness. Where's Butch? We got him tied up. He shot the gun out of his hand, and before he could get it again, we rode in and got him covered. Good. I want to talk to him. You'd better not try to get up yet. I can manage it now. Here, lean on me a little. Golly, you don't need help at all, Bob. Butch, you were hired to slow down the building of the bridge, weren't you? It's my business. Perhaps. But you've always made it your business to get as light a sentence as possible. It's, uh, it's going to help if you tell us who hired you. I didn't see his face. You must have. I didn't. I met him just three times. It was always at night. Besides, he wore a bandana over his face. That's too bad. You'll pay the full penalty for attempted murder. There was somebody else connected with all this? One of the worst crooks in the West, Bob. He's doing everything in his power to slow up the building of the railroad. What's his name? The name doesn't help without any evidence to back it up. Let's get back to camp. But are you sure you're well enough to ride? Yes, I think so. I'm sorry I've kept all of you here as long as I have. Men won't know what to do without your orders, Bob. You've lost a full day's work on the bridge. We couldn't leave you. Come on, Jeremy. Help me get this coyote into the saddle. Keno. Let's back to camp as fast as we can make it. Look at the bridge. The men are working all right. On the far side, too. Just where we figured to send them. How could they know what to do? They didn't. That's your father out in front of the cabin. There's an engine beside him. That's Tonto. Aye. Well, come on. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, you're better, Pa. I sure am. Tom gave me some medicine and fixed me up in no time. We got the crook to charge you. Take a look at him. Well, that's Pete Sawyer. His wife's name's Butch Rankin. And he's going to spend the next 20 years in jail. You not fine, Kimberly? No, Kimo Sabe. And no evidence against him. We'll have to hit the trail again. Ah. Here, Scout. Here comes Sally. I thought she was... Whoa. Whoa. Whoa there, boy. Whoa. What's up? Masked man, there was a stranger stopped at the ranch a couple of hours ago, talked like an Easterner. Is he the one... Where is he now? He told the boys he was heading back for the railhead. What? Come on, Silver. Get him up, Scout. Get him up. Go, Silver. Hooray. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated. The Lone Ranger Incorporated.
