horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty how silver, the Lone Ranger. His faithful Indian companion Tonto, the mask 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 and the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver, the Lone Ranger rides again. The Lone Ranger, Dan Reed, his 14-year-old nephew, and Tonto had been through strenuous days. Silver and the other horses were badly in need of rest. They were underweight and a bit slow to respond. The Lone Ranger found a place to camp and determined to stay there for a while. There was fine grazing, a good stand of timber, and a big stream of fast-running water. The place at first seemed ideal, but there was something curious about the stream. Though the weather was calm, the water each morning was so thick with mud that it seemed to have the consistency of heavy cream. It gradually cleared throughout the day until early evening, found it like crystal. It was pure and fine for drinking. In the deepest parts of the stream, each pebble on the bottom could be clearly seen. But by morning, it'd be thick and coffee-colored. I'll pour the water off the top into another pail. So what do you suppose makes this stream this way every morning? Dan, you'll see the sediment in the pail. Golly, there's about three inches of it. Is there something strange about the sediment? What do you think, Kemosabe? Why, this clay. Clay? Well, like clay. Hit from deep in ground, sometimes called hardpan. Well, there aren't any mines around here, are there? None that I know of. Maybe someone upstream is widening the bank. If that were the case, we'd have an entirely different kind of soil. Oh, Dan, this stuff came from deep down. I'll go get another pail and let it settle. Too bad we haven't enough pails to hold a day's supply. We could fill them at night when the stream's clear. You never see stream like this afore. All right, Tonto. Make me mad. This good time teach Dan to spear fish. Put water too muddy all day. You have a little time in the evening. Oh, time to swim. Go swim. Scare all fish away. Fish first. There's no time to swim. Hey, it's more important for Dan to be a fine swimmer. Hey, look what I found. What you got, Dan? Yeah, look at this. A bottle of some kind. Yeah, I had to wait out a little to get it, but look at it. There's a message sealed inside. Should I break it? Now, wait a minute. Not that way. You'll scatter glass in the ground. Here, I'll put it in this piece of tarpaulin. Here's a good rock to smash it. Now, wait till it's well wrapped. Let's see when. All right, Dan. Yeah, that did it. So, this broken glass in the hole we dug for our garbage. All right. May I wait and see the note first? Of course, Dan. You read the note? Girls writing. Yes. Golly. Listen to this. Please take me out of the Prairie Hotel and don't believe them when they say I'm crazy. It's signed, Betty Carter. Me no Prairie Hotel. Where is it, Toto? It's near here. Upstream, only two miles. There used to be a town there years ago. The town burned and the hotel was all that remained. I didn't think it was used, Toto. Maybe we go there, huh? There's no harm in seeing what lies back of this note. Betty Carter, huh? Golly, I wonder what she's like. Say, do you think someone's keeping her prisoner? They're not wasting time making guesses, Dan. Toto, I think I'll go without a mask. I'll wear a disguise. Ah, me saddle scout. I'll go get Victor's saddle, too. How about silver? Should I saddle him? Yes, Dan, if you will, please. Give me a chance to fix my disguise. All right. Hi there, Victor. We're going to travel again. Is this where there used to be a town? That's right. Golly. Did the fire take everything but the hotel? No, but the people left town after the fire. The buildings that remained were torn down so the lumber could be used for the new prison. Prison? What prison? The government built one just over that hill. They should have torn down the hotel, too. It'll fall down another year. As I understand it, the owner wouldn't sell up the price the government would pay. It doesn't look as if anyone's living here. We see horses on the other side of the hotel, next to stream. Is the disguise all right, Toto? Ah, yep. Plenty good. I'll go over there alone. Come on, Sylvia. Here you are, stranger. Oh. State your business. You don't need a gun. Is that what you do when anyone stops here? This ain't a hotel. It's a home, and it's mine. I bought it in paid cash. I'm sorry to have walked in. I didn't know. The last time I was here, there was quite a town. Well, there ain't now. I'm cooking supper, and I'm busy. Get. I see you are. And what I can see through that door, it looks first rate. Well, close the door and stop your snooping. I, uh, I wonder if I could buy a meal. I'm hungry. No. Now, look here. I'll tell you why I came. I'm looking for a girl named Betty Carter. I'm Betty Carter. Now, will you state your business and get? I got things on the stove. Did you write this note? Where'd you get this? I found it. Hmm. I see. Where? Downstream. Now, look, stranger. I don't know who you are, but you've met her, so I expect I've got to tell you a few things. I got a daughter. That's her, the poor kid. Well, does she often scream? She does if there's anyone here. Strangers make her worse than usual. I expect her better tell you the facts. Her husband was killed. Oh? Yeah. Quicksand. I'm sorry. She saw it. She wanted to jump after him. Her paw on me held her back. And ever since then, well, it, it affected her, uh, up here. I understand. Ever since, she's had the notion she was being held a prisoner because we wouldn't let her jump after a dead husband. We thought it'd straighten her out if we took her to some place where she'd be alone. So you brought her here? We bought this place. Had to pay a fancy price too. Are there only three of you here? Yep. I'd like to talk to your husband. Two of us right now. Sam's away for a few days. Now, mister, I told you the story. I've talked. Now get. I'm sorry. I troubled you. Goodbye. Goodbye. That nosy critter. Gone, Kate? I heard it all from the kitchen. He's leaving. I'm watching him. That girl. She got a note out of this place. I don't know how. He's gone now. Come on upstairs. I gotta tell that girl a few things. I heard her scream, but Lefty shot her up fast. Too darn fast. If that stranger's got a lick of sense, he'll know she was shot up by someone. Yeah. That's what I thought. Well, I'll see that it don't happen again. Lefty, what's the matter with you? I've done the best I could, Kate. She got out one scream. You, Betty Carter, you sent a note out of here. Yes, I did. And I'll send more. Oh, no, you won't. And it won't do you no good if you do. I gave that man a story that satisfied him. And he went on his way. You can't get away with this. Well, Lefty, you go outside and stand guard under a window. Sam, you sit outside the door. We'll see she don't write any more notes. Oh, you. You just wait. It's you who'll do the waiting. You'll wait a few days for food. I reckon when you're good and hungry, you'll lose some of that spunk. A lone ranger rode away from the building and joined Dan and Tonto. The three, at a signal from the mystery writer, didn't pause to talk until they'd crossed the top of a hill and hid them from the sight of anyone in the old hotel. Hurry up here. Hold some. Oh, wait. Is that the new prison? Yes, Dan. Golly, it's big. Tonto, there's something going on in that old hotel. The woman told several lies. How's that? I saw the kitchen stove before she slammed the door. She was cooking enough food for a dozen. Golly, she was. She said there were only two people in the place. She also said her daughter wrote this note, which I doubt. Did you see the girl? No, but she screamed once, Dan, and I'm sure someone put a hand over her mouth to quiet her. She's on the second floor of the place at the rear, I think. All front window on second floor broken. Did you see the rear? Yeah. We rode to the stream some distance from the hotel. We could see glass in some of the second floor windows on the south side. Say, that reminds me. Sort of changing the subject, but you know how muddy the stream was? Yes. It was muddy as long as we followed it up here. But it was clear upstream from the hotel. It was? Yeah. Wasn't it, Tonto? That's right. And in some way, the stream is made muddy when it passes the hotel. Well, we could ride by and see what happens to the water. Not now, Dan. We don't want to give that woman any further reason for suspicion if we can help it. I want to talk to Betty Carter. I will wait till after dark. In the meantime, I'll get out of these clothes and into my own. Soon after darkness fell, the lone ranger, wearing his mask again, moved cautiously along the stream toward the mysterious old building. In the faint light, they saw a man sitting at the water's edge beneath one lighted window. Dan, we leave the horses here. You stay and guard them. All right. Tonto, that man might be a guard. Yeah. Go get him? Yes, and keep him quiet and steady. Go get him and bring him back here. Golly, Tonto can move with less noise than his own shadow. I don't know if that man has seen us. If he has, he won't have long to think about it. I'll take my rope, Dan. Here it is. Thanks. How do you get into the hotel? Going in the second floor, toss a loop over the chimney, get to the flat roof, and lower myself through one of the broken windows. Does that locate Betty Carter? Yes. Look, Tonto's got the guard. Good. Now to find out what makes the water muddy and what's going on in the Prairie Hotel. Going softly forward on foot, the Lone Ranger soon reached the old building. He tossed his rope with a great heave. It uncoiled and the loop dropped neatly around the chimney. The masked man grew it tight, tested it, then went up, hand over hand. He recoiled the lariat and carried it with him as he silently lowered himself in the ease. His feet touched the sill of a window. In a moment, he was inside a dark room of the Prairie Hotel. Making no more noise than a panther, he made his way along the corridor toward the stairs. There was a man seated before the door of one room. The masked man crept ahead. Then a loose board betrayed him. What? Masked? Hey, boy! Betty, are you in there? Door's locked. No key. Stand back. I'm going to smash it. They're coming up the stairs. I'll tie this lariat to that bed and lower the end of the rope out the window. I'll put some of this furniture against what remains of the door. Stay where you are. I'm shooting through the door. Someone might get hurt. I'll slide the bed to the window. Where's Silver? All right, Betty. Down we go. Put your arms around my neck and hang on. I'll take the rope. Dressers stopped on that time. They'll get through the next time they hit the door. Hang on. My horse is right beneath us. Steady, Silver. 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 went to the Prairie Hotel to learn two things. Why a girl named Betty Carter was held against her will, and what happened to that hotel each night to make an ordinarily clear stream of water almost thick with clayish mud. Before he could talk to the girl, a dozen men rushed up the stairs with guns ready to fire. The masked man took Betty down a rope from her window and sped away on Silver. He maintained top speed for half a mile before he reigned out. Oh, Silver. Easy. Oh, Silver. You called the horse Silver. Yes. I thought you were an outlaw. I should have known. Betty, I don't know how much time we have, but I want to ask as many questions as I can. I found your note. Yes. You were the man who talked to Kate. Is that her name? Yes. Do I impress you as being crazy? No. How much of what Kate told me was true? I'm not a word of it. I'm not a daughter. I'm not, never have been married, and I'm quite sound mentally. You heard the conversation? Yes. The walls in that hotel are like paper. Why were you held there? I don't know. One day I received a letter from my father asking me to meet him at that outlandish hotel. I went there, and a man called Sam, and that woman Kate met me. Sam called himself a doctor and said my father had asked him and Kate to care for me. They actually tried to make me think I wasn't quite right. How long ago? I don't know. It was ever so long I just about gave up. I began to wonder if I really was a little touched in the head. I heard things at night. Like what? Digging sounds and creaking wagons and hoofs and mules. It kept up all night. Did you see any reason for those sounds during the day? No. I knew there were a lot of men around because I heard so many different voices, but I never saw wagons or mules. I don't know what the digging could have been. Digging? Yes. Someone's coming. Oh, they're friends of mine. Did those people let you out? During the day sometimes. They let me walk around outside, but never alone. Sam or Kate or another man called Lefty was always with me. Did you hear anything further from your father? Every so often they'd give me a letter from him. Genuine? I thought so. Where is he? He told me he was working on a tremendously important job. He said he'd come for me when he was through. There they are. Oh, hope it's him. Oh, scout. Oh, fella. Oh, fella. Oh, fella. You have plenty close shape, Kemosabe. Well, we made it all right, Tato. Did you have any trouble? No trouble. Me leave guard tied plenty tight. Me see you go. Me go back. Get Dan. We skirted around the hotel so they wouldn't see us. Golly, you must be Betty Carter. Yes, I am. I've heard of Tato, but you... I'm Dan Reed. He's a friend of mine, Betty. Oh, he's very fortunate. Miss Carter, you'd be more comfortable on Victor. I'll ride in the back of the Lone Ranger's saddle. Oh, I wouldn't want to take your horse. That's all right. I've ridden that way a lot of times. Here, I'll help you down. Very well. You didn't have time to do much looking around, did you, Tato? No. Couldn't find any reason for the muddy water? Oh, maybe we go back by and by and look place over and over. Now, Betty, where's your home? What? I don't know. Huh? Well, you see, after Mother died, I traveled with Dad. He stayed in a hotel wherever he was working on a job. Oh. I don't know where he is now. When I had a letter, Cater, someone else always opened it first. Now, what does your father do? He's a mining engineer. Mining engineer? Yes. He builds tunnels and things like that. He's the one who supervises the tunnels through Black Bear Mountain. Tunnel? Now, wait a minute. Muddy water, digging sounds at night, mules and wagons. Then, you ride with Tato. Go to our last camp and wait there. If any of that gang comes, don't fight. Clear out. Leave a trail and I'll find you. Yeah, but where are you going? I'm going to prison. Come on, Silver. Riding like the wind, the Lone Ranger raced northward, angling slightly to travel in a B-line toward the big prison in the desolate valley. He reined up at the gate before armed guards. Oh, Silver, oh boy. Hold on there. Take me to the warden. Hey, look. He's masked. Never mind the mask. I've got to see the warden right away. Yes, ma'am. Is that a big fella? Where's the warden's office? Right inside the gate. Is he there now? No, he's in his living quarters. Hey, take my gun belt. It'll make you feel better. Take him to the warden, Luke. Come inside the gate. I'll signal for a guard to take you to Mr. Payton. Thank you. I'll soon be back, Silver. I pull this string and it rings a bell over yonder. There'll be a man here in a minute. Very well. I don't know if you should go into that mask on. Don't let it worry you, guard. In a few moments, the Lone Ranger was with the warden in the prison office. Payton had been an army man and a United States Marshal. They'd made a study of prisons that served him in good stead in his position. He knew men, and he realized that the masked man before him had urgent business. So get right to the point. We'll discuss your determination to wear that mask afterward. Warden, I understand this prison is one of the finest and newest. That's true. When a man sent here, there's very little chance for him to escape. I'd say the chances are near. Hill, we have a system that's practically foolful. Suppose, uh, I suppose you had a man who could pay any amount of money to be free. You mean bribery? That will do, as an example. There's no man here who could be bribed. If you're leading up to something of that sort, sir... No, I'm not, warden. It happens that we have several prisoners who would pay heavily to get out. Suppose they had a lot of help on the outside. Nothing short of an army could bring about a release. Mr. Payton, I think you have a prisoner named Regan. Rifles Regan. We do. Why? He was sentenced for running rifles to the Indians. Yes. Rifles he stole from the army. I know of a few deals he made. The Indians had little sense of value where money was concerned. The double eagle meant no more than a silver dollar to many of them. What about it? Well, before Regan was captured, he must have accumulated a fortune. No doubt. Why? Did the law get any of his gang? No. Yet, if Regan had been willing to turn state's evidence, he could have gotten a much lighter term. Couldn't he? Yes, I think so. What are you getting at? Just this. The gang doesn't know where the fortune is hidden. They have to get Regan out to get that money. And that's what they're doing. Impossible. It can't be any other way. Every detail fits. What? A tunnel engineer to supervise. His daughter is hostage to be sure he does the job. Digging at night. Wagons, mules, all underground. Probably the basement of the hotel. Dirt hauled from the tunnel and thrown into the stream so it'll be washed away and leave no traces. Payton, you must listen to me. Carter, the tunnel engineer, was thin and wasted from weeks of worry and hard work. But Marks, the leader of the gang, was relentless in the way he drove the men. Come on, Carter. Finish those measurements. You said we touched the floor of the cell. But tell me what the shooting meant. Where's my daughter? Same place she's always been. I said you'd see her when this job was done. You know we got her. We let you hear her voice. Yes. Yes, I know. All right, come on now. We got to finish this job tonight. Bring the lamp closer. Let me check the measurements. Bring it over, Pete. You'd better keep your voices down from now on. We're under the prison, huh? I think so. Regan's lawyer reported day before yesterday. Regan has the corner cell. Got it alone. You sure this plan is accurate? Yep. I got it from one of the men that worked on the prison. Well, we dig now. Wait a minute. Maybe we're through, Dan. We better finish tonight. We'll let that critter get away. You think he'll make trouble? He can't. No one knows anything about this. He came to get... Well, he'll answer a certain note, that's all. Well, Carter, how about it? Marks, after you get Regan out of here, how do I know you'll let Betty and me go free? We got no reason to hurt you, Carter. Regan will get the cash and all of us will cross the border. I'll tell you one thing. If you don't get Regan, you'll never see your girl alive. All right. Break through the ceiling of the tunnel at this point. You sure you're right? Try it. I think this will be right in the middle of Regan's cell. It might be a few feet one way or the other, but I doubt it. Go on, boys. Break the ceiling down. You better be right, that's all. Well, he's the one that bossed the Black Bear Tunnel and had diggers working from two sides of the mountain. They met Spang in the center. He knows what he's doing. Regan always did have the best of everything. Now he's got the best engineer digging him out. The pigs will hit the stone in a minute. When you do that, work carefully. Work around the stone to its edge, and then you can drop it down. That'll be the stone floor of the cell, right? Yes. And what about the wagons and mules and things? You leave everything where it is. On our way out, we'll set fire to the Prairie Hotel. That'll close the end of the tunnel in the cellar for a time. Hey, hey. I touched the stone. Good. All right, now work careful around it. Keep the noise down. The floor is big slabs of flat stone. Stand clear. This one's about to drop. Here it comes. Good work, Carter. You done it. Regan's here. Let me talk to him. Hey, rifles. Great work. Everything quiet? Yeah. The guards are nowhere near. Wait a minute, Regan. We'll loosen this next slab of stone and see if we can get out. That does it. Yeah. Help me down. Hey, stick your feet through. Hey, what's that? Fire. Fire is coming toward you. I've heard that voice before. It fills the tunnel. It's coming this way. Shoot him. Shoving flaming brush rags. Stop. You'll set us to fire. I'll show you. I can't. We can't go through these flames. Mirror all the time. I'm getting out of here. Give me your hand up. Hurry up, guard. Like rats rushing for safety, the tunnelers scrambled through the hole to escape the approaching inferno. Behind those flames, which came from oil-soaked rags and drive brush tied to the front of a small wagon, were the Lone Ranger, Tonto, and the guards from the jail. Other guards were in the cell above, helping the crooks into jail while the warden stood back watching. Line them up right there, and we'll sign them to other cells. Get them all now, warden. Here, give the masked man the hand up. I'll make it all right. There. The fire out? It'll burn itself out in a few minutes, warden. Cardinal, I understand about you. You will not be held. The masked man will take you to your daughter. Is she all right? Perfectly. This way, Carter. One minute. I want to thank you for this. I don't know of any other way we could have gotten those men without losing the lives of several honest guards. Neither do I. As for you men, you're the first men to dig yourself into jail. We'll take good care of you both before and after the trial so you'll not dig out. Well, I done here, Carter. There were others, Kate and Sam. Yes, the guards who came with me picked them up before we started looking for the tunnel. If you'd been one day late. I thought it would come tonight when no one chased me. Now, you go into that room, Carter. I'm going out this door. Betty. Oh, baby. Honey, are you all right? Yes. Yes, Dad, but bring in the Lone Ranger, too. Get him out, scum! I'll steal me! You have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated. You have just heard the Lone Ranger Incorporated. You have to pay a lot more than one of the members of the Lone Ranger Incorporated. You have to pay a lot more than two people in the house that are in the house that have been the first year and they tend to put a lot more to do. You can't have to pay a lot more. So you're the only one of them who can do it, but
