fiery horse for the speed of light, the cloud of dust, and a hearty hi-ho silver, the Lone Ranger. Faithful Indian companion Tonto, the masked rider of the plains, led the fight for law and order in the early western United States. The stories of his strength and courage, his daring and resourcefulness, have come down to us through the generations. And nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice. 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, Tonto's life is in danger. Tonto was alone in camp. He wakened at a whinny from Scout. Instantly alert, wondering the cause of Scout's uneasiness, the faithful Indian companion of the Lone Ranger listened to the night noises in the woodland clearing. Suddenly those noises stopped. Men come here Scout. Come on all side. That white cricket stopped noise. He knew he was surrounded, but by whom? Then suddenly... Close him, boys! Don't make a break. We got you, Redskins. Shoot him if he moves. Drop your hands. What's the matter, you fella? Grab him. You're on a red horse, Steve. Oh, me not struggle. You fella make big mistakes. Yeah, there's no mistake. How about it, Jim? Is that paint horse yours? Sure it is. That's the horse that was stolen from me. I'll bet all I got on it. Throw more brush in that fire so we can see this place. I'll do it, Red. Drop that Redskin. We'll make him tell where the rest of the stolen horses are hid. Right. Stand still, Redskin. You fella got ranch around here? You're doggone right. We've all lost horses. Hey, fellas. This Redskin's got a partner. Look, there's signs that two men use this camp. Ah. Where's your partner? Ah, me not horse, Steve. Never mind the lies. I know the truth. Why, you're caught right here with the goods. That's my horse there. That's not true. Well, I can't prove it. Red, come over here. What is it, Jim? Let me prove that this paint is my stolen horse. Sure. Go ahead. We want to make sure of things. I'll prove it's minor. My name isn't Jim Jones. You remember, Red, the other day when I was painting my house with yellow paint? Sure I do. Well, my horse came alongside and got a smear of paint on his rump. Now, look. You take a look and see if there's not some paint there. Move the cutter to the fire. Come on, you stubborn animal. He is a stubborn cuss, Jim. Come on, now, give me a hand with him. Get over there. That's my horse. Him named Scalp. No use you trying to lie out of it, Redskin. Here, Jim. I'll fetch a brand from the fire so we can see. Yeah, good enough. Now, take a look, boys. There's a smear of yellow paint, just like I said. Jim's right. Now, you boys make sure, but I'm going to have a look at the saddlebags that are on this tree. It's the same color paint that Jim Jones used for his house. Well, there's no doubt of it. This must be his horse. He described the horse to us ahead of time. Remember? Sure. He had the description right down to a tee. What about it, Redskin? You ready to confess to horse stealing? May not steal horse. Denying it, huh? Look here, Injun. There's been horses stolen from all of us ranchers. We suffered plenty from horse thieves. Now, we don't figure you're as much to blame as the man that works with you. He's not a Redskin, is he? May not talk. You tell us where the stolen horses are and where we can find this partner of yours and we won't hang you. May not talk. You'll sure as thunder hang if you don't talk. Hey, fellas, look here. Take a look at what I found. The owner of the polecat stole other things as well as horses. Look what I found in his saddlebags. My spurs, the fancy ones that I had hanging in my saddle shed. Silver one. And here's a good hunting knife that was in my saddle shed. Got my initials on it, see? Was that in the saddle bag, too, Jim? Yeah. This doggone Redskin's been prowling all over my place. I reckon a few boys want still more proof I can supply it. Oh, we got proof enough, Jim. I had a hunch I could find this critter. You see, that horse always had a special long stride, so it wasn't hard to follow the tracks to this woods. And the campfire led us the rest of the way. Redskin, you're slated to hang. May not horse thief. Boys, remember, we want to be triple show we've got the right man before we hang him. All right, Hank. There's more proof as I said. You can match the footprints of this Redskin against the footprints near my saddle shed. Look, moccasin, see? Jim's got it right. I remember him showing me the footprints of a man in moccasins. All right, then. Who's got a rope? Here's one. Noose already in it. I'll put it around the engine's neck. Make sure it's fixed right. Let me have the end. I'll toss it over that branch up there. This is as good a hanging tree as any we'd find. No more wood in the fire. We want to have plenty of light to see what we're doing. Gents, hold on a minute. What is it, Hank? Well, taking the life of a man isn't something to do casual. That's the Easterner talking out of you. You'll get over that when you've been out here a while longer, Hank. But the Indian says he's not a horse thief. You don't expect him to confess, do you? Well, I don't know what we're doing. You don't want any part of this. You can clear out any time you want. The next time you get into trouble with horse thieves, don't come to us looking for help. We agreed to stick together. Well, maybe it'd be better to go to the law. Law? What's the law? Old Parker. He hasn't caught a crook in the three years he's been sheriff. He jugged the Redskin and the Redskin's pals have bust him out of jail. Now, you let me handle this. Stand clear. There's the rope. Grab that free end now. I got it. You, Redskin, get to the back of that paint horse you stole from me. Me not steal him. Lift him to the horse, fellas. He can't mount up with his hands tied. Lift him up. Hoist him now. That's it. Grab his leg on that side. Yeah, that'll do it. Here's a branch to slap the horse. Now, wait a minute, boys. Now, what do you want, Hank? Let me speak to him once more. Look here, Redskin. We aren't a pack of killers. We're just ranchers that have been robbed. Now, if we could get back the horses that have been stolen from us, we'd be willing to turn you free. Wouldn't we, boys? Well, at least we wouldn't hang you. Now, where are the horses? Me not steal him. Come on and tell us. Where's your partner? Me not talk. It's no use, boys. Red, slap the horse out from under him. Let the critter hang. Scout, not move. We'll see. Get up there. Scout, not move. Slap that critter again. Get along there. Get up. Maybe master a horse make a mine. You say this your horse, you tell him go. Get up there. Get along with you. Kill him, I tell you. You not master. You not owner. Horse not obey you. This horse named Scout, him my horse. I'll get the ropes. Who's that? Hey, where is he? Get him up. Scout, let's wait. Come on. Use, boys. We can't see for them trees and dark. That must have been the engine's parking. Get our horses. Tail them. We've got to run them down. Hold on, Jim. Wait a minute, boys. Listen to me. Jim, are you dead sure? You didn't make a mistake. You saw the proof. But the paint horse wouldn't pay attention to you or red. But the minute the engine spoke, golly, did you see the critter travel? The man that shot that rope and two. Where'd he come from? Who is he? I don't know or care, but I'm going to get after those two. You men can calm or stay as you please. If I've got to run those horse thieves down alone, I'll do it. Where were you, Jim? Come on, boys. Get to the horses and get after them. The sheriff was a troubled man, hounded by the ranchers who had suffered heavily at the hands of horse thieves. He had tossed sleeplessly for hours. And finally, as he dozed, he was suddenly wakened. Hey, what? Let me go. Where's my gun? Take it easy, sheriff. I want to talk to you. But who? You don't need a light. You can hear in darkness and you don't need to see me. But who are you? What's the idea of busting into my house like this? What in tongue did you... I want to know about those horse thieves. Horse thieves? Well, now I'm awake. Now I am awake. What do you know about them? You tell me. Nothing. I'm here to learn. And who are you? Jim Jones tried to hang an Indian. Oh, yes. I heard about it a little while ago. That redskin stole his paint horse. That's not true. Mm-mm. I was with the Indian when he stopped at the Jones ranch. Jones saw both the paint and my white stallion. He had ample chance to learn what the paint looked like. Yeah? On the left footprints near the saddle shed where he went to water his horse. And Jones led the ranchers to try and lynch my friend. Your friend? The redskin? Yes. But I understand there was evidence. A blob of yellow paint. Which Jones himself could have put on the horse when he found it. But there was a knife in the saddlebag and spurs that belong to Jim Jones. Both of which Jones could have put there when he claimed to find them. Doggone the way you tell it. But it sounded like proof that couldn't be shaken when the ranchers told me about it. Just how many horses have been stolen? Two score and more. From whom? Red Tarbuck, Jim Jones, Hank Fielding, Sam Blake. Why, from almost all the ranchers around here. How long ago was the first horse stolen? How long ago? Yes. A couple of weeks. Since then, there's been thefts most every night. First from one ranch, then from another. Always horses? Yep. No cattle? Never so much as a heifer. Well, isn't there any trail to follow? The ranchers are so cluttered with hoof marks that a trail wouldn't show very much. One horse's hoof looks the same as another. All right, Sheriff. Thanks. Now, hold on. Don't you start away until I've got my turn at asking questions. Go ahead, Sheriff. Ask all you want. But don't light the lamp and don't leave the side of your bed. Yeah? Who are you? Where'd you come from? Why are you so interested in that red skin? Well? Answer me. Oh, I'm silver. Don't call it all. He's gone. The lone ranger hurried to the shadows and back of the row of buildings on the town's main street. Tonto was there waiting for him. Well, Tonto, I talked to the sheriff and learned that almost every one of the ranches have lost horses. Isn't that right? And those men quit their search for us. They reported to the sheriff. They built a pretty strong case against you, Tonto. Me, no. But why? Jim Jones seemed mighty anxious to hang you. I wonder if he didn't want to hunt for the thieves to be called off. Ah. If Scout had obeyed those men, you'd be dead. You come just in time. At first I knew there were men in our camp. I heard them trying to make Scout move. If he had, well, he'd have had your neck broken. Scout, plenty smart. Jim Jones knows about these thieves, Tonto. He must. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so anxious to hang an innocent man. How will we make him confess? I don't know. The ranch is still over there in the cafe. Ah. Been there now. All of them? Ah. Jim Jones, Red there, fellow named Hank, many others. All right, then. What's the matter, Silver? Get your hands up. We've got you covered. The sheriff. Close in, boys. Capture them. Let me get them. No, Tonto, no. Have us surrounded. Don't shoot. These men are lawmen. There's plenty of big mistakes. Oh, you should fight now. Don't you shoot. You won't be shot. Take their guns, boys. All right, Jerry. You are the one who's in my house. Yes, I am. I told you the case against Tonto was a flimsy one. It still is. We'll see. We'll see about that. Boys, take them inside the cafe. We'll let Jim and Red look them over and see what they've got to say. This Indian's the one we captured, all right. He got away. Well, I got him again. And his mask partner along with him. Take the mask off that one, boys. Now, one minute. We're not guilty and we'll prove it by showing you how Tonto was framed and naming the leader. He was not framed. Now, wait a minute, Jim. What is it, Red? Boys, listen to me. The masked man's right. He's not the horse thief. Maybe he can name the real one, but he don't need to take the trouble. I'll confess. I stole all the horses. Red, you don't know what you're saying. Red, now hold on, Red. You're a doggone liar. You're saying I have to save these two. I don't know why you're confessing to it, why you want to save these two, but you're not the thief. We won't let you confess. Why'd you do that, Red? What'd you confess for? You know it ain't so, Red. Boys, I've made my statement. It stands as is. Take it or leave it. 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. When the sheriff captured the Lone Ranger and Tonto and took them before the ranchers in the cafe to charge them with horse stealing, a rancher called Red suddenly confessed. No one believes you, Red. Well, Thunder, you've got no reason to steal horses. You're the richest man in the valley. You heard my confession. If you want to jail anyone, you've got to jail me. I'll be hanged if I'll jail you. You've got to prove you stole those horses before I believe a word of it. Uh, where are the horses? Where? Well, I, uh, I sold them. Who to? Uh, I don't know. They're way off by this time. The cash is in my bank. Oh, a pack of lies to save this masked man. If you jail the masked man, you've got to jail me too. But I tell you... I know enough of the law to know that, Sheriff. You can't jail a man who claims he didn't steal the horses and let go free the man who claims he did. Now can you? Well, uh, I was never up against anything of this sort. I'm doggone if I know what the law says. No, that's no use, Red. Jim, keep your mouth shut. The masked man knows the truth. I confess to the stealing. What's that? Jim Jones! Are you trying to make me think you had a hand in a tube? I'm your horse thief. Jim, if this don't beat all I ever... Give me those guns. I'll stand back, all of you. Back there, against that wall. You can't get away with this. Save your breath, Sheriff. Get your guns, Tonto. Let me get them. Boys, close your eyes. Hold quiet. Move back. Back some more. Jim Jones, Red, you two step forward. And what if we don't? I'll help you. All right, all right. I'm full. Never mind grabbing me by the shirt. I'll do what you say. Take the guns, Tonto. Let me get them. What the Sam Hill's the matter with you? You heard me confess to the horse stealing. What more do you want? I want the truth, and you're not telling it. Of course he isn't. Jim Jones is no thief. I'm the thief. Neither one of you can tell where the stolen horses are. I said I sold them. You didn't, Red. I sold them. I sold them and put the cash away. That's enough. Me got the guns. Take them outside, Tonto. We'll go to a new camp or we can make them talk. Huh. You hear what Lone Ranger say? Oh, Ranger? Great guns, that's who it is. The Masked Man's a Lone Ranger. You go outside. Sure, if you'll make a mistake, if you let any of your posse try to follow us. No, this ain't right. Ain't fair or square. You're doing me wrong. First, I got four men that charged with horse stealing. Two of them self-confessed. And next minute, I got none at all. And not one of the four is a real thief. But I have... Perhaps the real thief will be found after we hold a meeting. Ready, Tonto? Uh-huh. Tell us all the horse ready to ride. Get started, then. I'm with you. Get after him. Get him back. I want all four of them. Get him yourself. That's the Lone Ranger. Let's see what he can do. I'll still be. Always. You camped some distance from town. The Lone Ranger permitted Jim Jones and Red to dismount. Easy, big fella. Got a fire going, Tonto. No one will find us here. Ah, no one follows from town. Why'd you do this? What are you after? The truth, Jones. You're going to give it to me. No matter what he says, Jim Jones isn't a thief. Neither are you, Red. Why did you confess? That's my business. I've got nothing to say except that Jones isn't a horse thief. I know why you think he is. He tried to frame Tonto. Sure I did. I wanted someone to hang so the whole thing would be cleaned up and the rest of the ranches wouldn't want the sheriff to keep hunting clues. Now listen to me. You did enough lying in the cafe. Now we've got some truth. Sit down there. There's nothing to discuss. I said I was... I said sit down. Yeah. All right, then. You too, Red. Sit next to each other so I can watch you both. The following day, the sheriff was in his office when Tate Raft, one of his deputies, sauntered in from the hitch rack. Well, how'd the office go while I was away, Sheriff? Oh, good enough, Tate. Can't complain. Had a little excitement last night. Yeah? How's that? The ranchers thought they was in the track of horse thieves. Yeah, the horse thieves that have been operating around here? Yeah. Did they get them? They trailed a redskin to a camp in the south woods. Claimed there was a lot of evidence against him. His moccasins fitted footmarks that was found around Jim Jones' saddle shed. Uh-huh. And the horse the redskin had, a paint, was like one of the Jim Jones string. It even had a smudge of paint on it. Paint like Jones used on his house. For a time, I reckoned the boys was dead sure they'd captured the horse thief. It didn't turn out that way. Who was the redskin? He wasn't the thief. He got away all right without too much trouble. Say, it's one of the boys didn't string him up. You know, Sheriff, it seems to me Jim Jones himself might be involved in horse stealing. Oh, why should he be? He's got plenty of cash. I don't know about that. I've heard he hasn't as much as folks think he's got. As a matter of fact, Tate, the evidence did point to Jim Jones. Have you investigated him any? Not yet. I wanted to sort of think it over for a time. Wasn't any more horse of stone last night? No, hasn't been a robbery since you went over to Pine Flats. But you never know when it'll break out again. That's right. Since you left three days ago, the Lone Ranger has turned up around here. The Lone Ranger? Mm-hmm. You've heard of him, haven't you? Sure. Who hasn't heard of the Lone Ranger? What's he doing around these parts? Looking for thieves. Horse? Ah, I see. Has he got a lead? Says he don't need one. He's just waiting around in town to see the horse thief trap himself. Trap himself? How can he do that? Here's a good one, Tate. Sit down, let me tell you. Yeah. You know, the last horses that was stolen was took from Jim Jones. Yeah, so I heard. There hasn't been a robbery since then, huh? No? I suspected at the time that Jones robbed his own livestock to throw off suspicion. Everyone else but Jones has been robbed. Here's what happened. Yeah? It's going to be funny when I tell you. Well, go on, tell me. Jones came here with horses he'd bought real cheap. Now, you know a man can buy real cheap horses if he doesn't insist on a legal bill of sale. Did Jones buy stolen horses? I'm not saying. But the fact is those horses had an old brand on them. A brand that could hardly be seen. It was sort of a secret brand, see? Huh? Well, when the Lone Ranger came here and told how certain parties were buying stolen horses he and Jones got to comparing notes. Ha! And here's where the funny part of it is. These certain parties that are buying from the horse thieves are going to buy back their own stolen horses. What? Won't that be a humdinger? And they'll come right in here with blood in their eyes hunting the critters that sold them back their own horses that have been stolen. Don't you see? We don't have to do a doggone thing but just sit back and watch what happens. That's why the Lone Ranger is hanging around here. Well, then we'll take a walk. You watch the office till I get back. I'll watch things. Bye! There goes the sheriff, Tullo. Uh-huh. Me see him. Now we see what deputy and office do, huh? Are there ranches where we can reach them in a hurry? All ranches in town. All waiting cafe. Good. Tate's leaving the office. He's hurrying to that house across the street. Come on, Tullo. Hey, what's the hurry? You needn't knock the door down, Tate. Jake, take this note and travel fast. You know where to take it. Get there as fast as the best horse will take you. What's the matter? Anything wrong? Got to change the plans. Now, don't waste time. I've got to get back to the office. The sheriff will be back in a minute. Hurry. Leave the door open, boys. We won't be in this office long. The sheriff? Oh, hello there, Jones. Hi, Red. Tate, we want to talk to you. I'm a masked man. You bet it's a masked man. It's the Lone Ranger. Come on, Tate. You're riding with us. Riding? Following the man you just sent out with the message. Man? We saw you. I baited you and you took the bait. Come on, you poor cat. We'll see where your partner leads us. Wait, listen. Come on. Ouch, wait. I don't miss my neck. There's your horse. Get on him. I will, I will. But tell me what this is. You know what about. Come on up, man. There's Tullo at the top of the hill. He's watching the messenger. Good big come up. Come on, sit away. Lone Ranger, Tullo, the sheriff, Tate, and the ranchers rode in pursuit of the man whom Tate had sent out with a message. They rode two hours at a loping trot much against Tate's will. Then they came to a valley where more than a score of fine horses were corralled and guarded by two men. Well, are those your horses? It's mine. And mine. Hey, I see my horses, too. They're shooting, boys. They've asked for it. Let them have it. Don't kill them. You'll need them as witnesses against their leader. Take them alive. Come on, silver. With the Lone Ranger in the lead, the ranchers raced into the valley firing into the air. They quickly surrounded the rustlers, forcing them to surrender. Don't shoot. We give up. You got us. We surrender. Tate, you double-crossing polecat. You led the law here to try and save your own dirty neck. No, no, Jake. I couldn't help it. Save your talk for court. Roping, boys, and don't be none too generous. All right, you got me, Sheriff. You told me you aren't about Jim Jones having stolen horses and I believed you. Sure you did, you crook. You thought the Lone Ranger knew who you were selling horses to. You thought you'd sell them to the ones they'd been stolen from before Jones got them. And your guilty conscience trapped you. But who talked? Someone must have known about me. I'd give everything to know who it was. No one. You see, Tate, Jim Jones had been made to believe that his friend Red was a thief. To save Red, he tried to frame an Indian. I'm sorry about that. I don't know what I'd have done if the engine had died. I never knew I'd go that far for Red. And when I realized that Jim had framed the Redskin, I figured Jim was guilty. I'd sooner confess and hang myself than see Jim Jones hang. Friendship, Tate, is something you wouldn't understand. You see, Jim and Red were partners in the Indian Wars. Each is alive today because the others saved him. Each was ready to confess and hang to save his friend. Yes, they did confess. Then the Lone Ranger took things in hand, got them together and found out that you was the one that gave each of them the idea the other was a thief. And no one told on me? No, Tate. You dumb galoot. You shut up. If you hadn't been such an addlehead, you wouldn't have sent me here. Then they wouldn't have followed me here. I couldn't help it. I thought... Save it. We've heard enough talk. Get them back to town, boys. We'll see what the jury says about them. Where's that masked man now? Hey, hold on there, mister. We'll meet again, Sheriff. Good luck to you. Hold on. Wait a minute. I want to tell that Redskin that I'm sorry. Hold on, Silver. Help us. Wait. It's no use, Jim. Those fellas don't wait for thanks. But you can bet your life they were glad to help you. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger, Incorporated.
