With 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 in the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver, the Lone Ranger rides again. Come on, Silver! The Lone Ranger had been gone for several days on some mysterious mission that had to do with the town of Parmalee. On the day the mask man was to arrive, Tonto waited on the trail to guide him to the campsite. Dan Reed had stayed in Kent. It was nearly sunset when he saw Tonto riding in, alone. Hi, Tonto! Oh, scound, ho, fa la ho! Ho, fa la ho! What's the matter? Where's the Lone Ranger? Didn't he show up? Him come from east. Tonto meet him. Oh, where is he? Him come by and by. Let me tell him how far in camp. Oh, is everything all right? Maybe so. We know in one or two days. Tonto, just what's going on in Parmalee? Oh, plenty trouble there, Dan. Sheriff got hands full. You mean the town's full of crooks? Special kind of crook. Crook by name of Sterling. Him plenty rich feller. Him try run town. Oh, well, we've run up against that kind before. Ah. Dan, what you'll do here in camp? Why, what's the matter? I got a lean-to built and cleaned out the spring and got a supply of firewood. Let me see firewood. It's good solid wood and cut the right length. What's the matter with it? Ah, you show Tonto axe. The axe? Well, sure, it's right here. What's the trouble? Oh, axe, plenty sharp. Maybe you try to cut wood with flat sides. Oh, you don't like the way the wood's cut. Well, Tonto teach you how to use axe. Here, Tonto. Here's a piece I cut. That's a good clean cut, isn't it? Ah, that's plenty good. That cut like woodman. What happened in this end? Looked like Tenderfoot cut it. Yeah, it sure does, doesn't it? I guess the Tenderfoot did cut that end. You should have seen the mess he made of it. Must have hurt himself, too. What do you mean? Well, when I was looking around camp, I found where a couple of saplings had been cut. Someone had tried to chop them up, but whoever it was must have hurt himself. There was blood on the bark and some on the ground. Anyway, I finished the job. This other camp near here? Well, it isn't what you'd call a camp. It looks as if someone just came in and cut the trees and left. Didn't even take the wood with them. Oh. Maybe we take a look before dark. Now we get fire built. Lone Ranger comes soon. Where'd he go? Why didn't he come here with you? Well, him go to town first. Want to see Sheriff Burley. Mrs. Burley, I'm a friend of the sheriff. No. No, go away. Hey, things are bad enough without having people see a masked outlaw here at the house. I'm not an outlaw, Mrs. Burley. You're masked and that's bad enough if anyone sees you here. I stopped at the sheriff's office and it was locked. Well, that's why I came here. I've got to see Jim Burley right away. Oh, my sakes. There's Gabby Garner looking this way. Hurry, step inside. Maybe he didn't see the mask. Very well. Go right in. Let me watch him a minute. Oh, dear. Worse all the time. Gabby's gone away on the run like he had something to tell. He probably saw the mask. Where is Jim? He ain't here. You'll have to go see the deputy. It's Hank Yates. He lives at the edge of town in a small cabin. Lives alone there. It's the sheriff I must see. Where is he? He disappeared a week ago. A week ago? Yes. He went somewhere on business. But didn't he return? No. He went after evidence that Dan Sterling was a crook, didn't he? You know about that? Yes. The way Sterling runs this town, he just about owns everyone heart and soul. He's all crook and a yard wide. But no one can jail him. No, he keeps within the law. Stealing and robbing and dragging people into court of law for every little thing. And bribing. Bribing. Well, he didn't bribe Jim. Jim Burley couldn't be bribed. But why do you say that? I know he couldn't. But everyone says he was. What do you mean? Well, everyone counted on Jim to come back with evidence that he jailed Sterling. But Jim didn't come back. Now everyone says that Sterling bribed him to stay away. There's no reason for such a charge. But there is. There's reason aplenty. There is? Yes. You see, the day after Jim left here, someone put a thousand dollars in the bank and Jim's name. Oh? The next day, a man came here saying Jim had sent him for some clothes and things that he needed. I packed Jim's things, never suspecting anything wrong. Oh, of course not. Then Gabby Garner, the one that saw you on the porch, well, he saw this man leaving with Jim's bag. That started the talk. When it was found that Jim's personal things had all been cleaned out of his desk, it, well, it looked even more suspicious. I see. Then it came out that Sterling had drawn $10,000 from his bank account on the same day that $1,000 went into Jim's name. Everyone claims that Jim took the bribe of $9,000 cash and had $1,000 left in the bank for me to use. So they think Jim Burley was bribed to stay away. Yes. Oh, my sakes, there's a crowd coming here. It's Gabby Garner's work. Thanks for what you've told me. You've got to hurry before they get here. They'll likely think you're in cahoots with Jim. I am, but not as they think. Hurry. Oh, please, hurry. Come on, Silver. Dan Sterling, standing at the door of his large home, saw the crowd in the street and saw the masked man ride away. He chuckled softly. Opening a trap door on the floor, Sterling descended to a cyclone cellar, lighted by several oil lamps. Jim Burley, the missing sheriff, was tightly lashed to a heavy chair. A pale-faced man with shifty eyes was on guard to make sure the lawman didn't loosen the ropes. Well, dude, has this sheriff shown any sign of changing his mind? Not yet, he ain't, Mr. Sterling. Jim Burley, you're the most stubborn man I ever knew. Sterling, you can keep me here from now till doom's day. But you won't get your hands on the evidence I got against you. If I could just get clear of these ropes, I'd... You can't loosen them, Burley. No use trying. You see, there's ample reason for the people to think you took a bribe and ran out on them. Oh, catch. You on-rate crooks. The best part of all is this. A few minutes ago, a masked man called at your house. What? A masked man? And people are saying he's an outlaw friend of yours. Yeah. Now the people are sure you've turned crook. So that masked man was talking to my wife, eh? Well, thanks for telling me. You're welcome. Sterling, I got evidence that you and your pals are wanted in St. Louis under different names. It's evidence it'll jail you for ten years. I want that evidence, Burley. It's where you can't get it. I'll get it or I'll make sure it's never used against me. Oh, no, you won't. Listen, Burley, I'm no fool. You had it and you did one of two things with it. You didn't hide it. When you saw that you're going to be captured, you made some arrangements to send it here by mail to your office. Keep guessing. If you haven't hidden it, Hank Yates has it. Guess again, Sterling. Keep right on guessing. Maybe I ought to tell you something of my plans. You remember that I sent a man to your house to get some of your things? You ain't letting me forget it. Well, he got your things, including your rifle. The one with your name on it. What about it? Your rifle's going to be a murder weapon, Sheriff. But you can prevent the murder. By giving you the evidence, huh? Yes. Not to save anyone's life. I pledged myself and I'm keeping the pledge I made. Hank Yates is the one that's slated to die. What? Why, you... And you're the one that's going to be charged with killing them. If I could just get free from here... Let me see what time it is. Mm-hmm. Right now, Yates is eating supper in a restaurant. In about an hour, he'll be going home to that little place where he lives all alone. Just about an hour from now. Hank Yates took the same oath I did. And he'd do the same thing I'm doing. He'd tell you and that dude with the slick down hair and the pointed shoes to go to blaze. Hank Yates, the deputy, stood in front of his small house until his pipe was finished. Then he knocked out the ashes against the heel of his boot, studied the sky a moment, and opened the door. Poor Yates. He never had a chance. You think he'll pull through? I don't know. I heard the shot. Has anyone gone for the dock? What's happening here? Oh, here's the dock. Boys, get out of the way. Get out of the way. Now, what happened here? Doc, it's good you're here. I happen to be nearby. Hank Yates, huh? The bullet got him in the chest, Doc. He's still breathing. What's that contraption? That's what got Yates. Those two forked sticks was tied to chairs. And the rifle was set on the sticks, facing the door, and tied in place. The string was fixed to the trigger and around the chair, so it'd shoot anyone who opened the door. Yeah, I'll have a look at it after I examine Hank. It's Jim Burley's rifle, Doc. Burley, huh? I thought he'd run away. Well, he must have snuck back to fix that. Well, pulse is good. Well, how about Yates? Will he pull through? Well, he's got a good chance. I'll do what I can here, then I'll take him over to my place where I can give him better treatment. Sid, we're going to scour this town to find Jim Burley. You coming with us? You bet. No, you ain't. You and a couple others are staying to help move Hank Yates. After that, you can do what you want. Word of Hank Yates' injury quickly spread through the town. By the time the doctor had finished treating the wound and removing the deputy to his own home, the street was filled with men who searched for Sheriff Burley. While Dude remained in the cyclone cellar with the sheriff, Sterling and his other henchmen watched the man hunt from the front porch of the house. I never suspected the shooting of Hank Yates would stir up such excitement. Did you, Silk? Not me. That mob's dead sure Burley's in town and they've been on finding him. Yes, I know. While I was out there, there was talk of a lynching if they found him. They're searching the house, Mr. Sterling. They went through Burley's own place and now they're looking for him in his friend's house. I suppose he'll be here sooner or later. That's what I was thinking. Of course not many people know about my cyclone cellar. Just the same, you got to get rid of Burley sooner or later. This might be a good chance. Feed him to the wolves, huh, Silk? Why not? Uh, he's still below with Dude. Yep. If he didn't talk to save the deputy, he'll never talk. Yates wasn't killed, was he? No, but I don't think he had the evidence. Burley hid it somewhere. If he's dead, he can't use it. I was sure he wouldn't have time to talk before the men lynched him. Hey, look, Mr. Sterling. I've still got the same drug we used on that man in St. Louis. The very thing. If we fill him with this before we leave him to be found, he can't talk. You and Dude fix him up, then take him to Conroy's woodshed next door. Leave him there as if he's in hiding, understand? Right. Now be sure you leave him untied. Leave a desk. We'll fix things. Well, hurry before the mob decides to search this house. Ten minutes later, Sterling watched Dude and Silk carry the helpless sheriff out the rear door. He closed that door, then went to the cellar to make sure there was no sign that the lawman had been held there. He came up the stairs and closed the trap door on the floor. Then, he heard a sharp voice in back of him. Sterling. What the? I came to find Jim Burley. Mast? You're the one who was at his house. Where is he? I don't know. I think you do. I'll look in that cellar. Sterling. Sterling, they found Jim Burley. What did you say about Jim Burley? Well, they... Who is this? Answer me. The mob found him hiding next door in the woodshed. They're aiming to hang him. They do. I'll be back and settled with you, Sterling. 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. Shortly before the mob found Sheriff Burley, Dan and Tonto had ridden into town. They had found the streets filled with men, the town seething with excitement. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. Golly, Tonto, something's happened here. That's right, Dan. Maybe that's why the Lone Ranger hasn't shown up at camp. We leave horses here. We find out what go on. All right. I'll ask one of those men. Huh. Hey, mister. This ain't for you, son. You keep out of it. But just a minute. What happened here? Tempted murder. Golly. The sheriff set a trap for his own deputy. Hank Yates, Blaineer, got killed. The sheriff did? You mean Jim Burley? We'll get the double-crossing, bribe-taken skunk. We'll hang him. But are you sure it was Jim Burley? The trap in Yates' house speaks for itself. Now keep out of the way, son. Tonight, we're the law in Parmer League. Well, come on, boys. We'll start searching the woodshed. Tonto, did you hear that? Uh, me here. Get the saddle, Dan. Right. That man said Jim Burley killed his deputy. Uh, me hear him. Him say trap at Yates' house. Yes. Maybe Lone Ranger there to look around. We go see. Right. Get him up, scout. Come on, Victor. Those men will hang the sheriff if they find him. Uh, that'd be bad. Do you know where the deputy lives? Me know. It down there. Small cabin. That one's straight ahead? Uh. There's a light in it. Uh, me see it. I don't see anyone around. Uh, it looks like cabin empty. Front door's wide open. Oscar, ho, ho, ho, ho. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. Maybe Lone Ranger already here and gone. I'd sure like to know where he is. Are we going inside the house? Uh, we go take a look. There's the trap that man spoke of. Oh. Rifle on forked stick. Golly. It couldn't miss hitting the man that opened the door. It's too bad Lynch mob rule town. Too bad there's no lawmen in charge. A lawman wouldn't leave the trap like this. He'd take the rifle and those forked sticks as evidence. But I guess that mob doesn't need evidence. Dan, you hear? Tonto, the mob's got someone. We go to door. Hear him better. Look at all the torches. A mob carries some power. It's a sheriff. They found Jim Burley. They're going to hang him. Come on, Tonto. Look. There's the Lone Ranger. Him come plenty fast. Look at the Lone Ranger break up that mob. Man fall from silver. He's reached the sheriff. He's got him, Tonto. He's got the sheriff. Come on, Tonto. Come, Dan. We get the horses fast. I'm right with you. Mount up. Where are we going? Go to camp. Maybe that's where Lone Ranger goes. Get him up, scout. Come on, Victor. Tonto and Dan reach camp soon after the Lone Ranger, who carried the unconscious sheriff. Tonto bathed the wounds and bruises the lawman had sustained at the hands of the mob. Then he tried various methods to restore consciousness, but without success. In the meantime, the Lone Ranger told what he'd learned in Parmalee. Everyone thinks the sheriff took a bribe to go away? Yes, Dan. And they think he came back to set that trap for his deputy? That's what people think. That's why they were going to hang him. But why would the sheriff want to do anything to Hank Yates? Men in a mob like that don't stop to reason. They did. They'd realize that Sheriff Burley wouldn't set a trap and use a rifle with his own name on it. Did you see that trap? Yes, Dan. If those men use their heads, they know that the sheriff never cut those fork sticks that held the rifle. How's that? Golly, they were cut by someone that didn't know anything about an axe. You noticed that, huh? Fine work. Those sticks were cut by a tenderfoot. The same as the saplings I found today. Saplings? There's a place a few yards from camp where some tenderfoot... Oh, golly! Where is that place? Right over that way. I'll bet that's where the fork sticks came from. It's the same kind of wood. Bring a torch from the fire and show me that place. This ground holds footprints. Stan? Right. Small shoes with pointed toes. I saw those shoes less than an hour ago in a man in Sterling's house. Where are you going? Back to town. I want the man that has those shoes. Sterling, Dude, and Silk were somewhat concerned about the masked man's sudden appearance in the rescue of the sheriff. But as they discussed the affair, they realized that there was little cause for worry. Yeah, that drug we gave the sheriff will do the trick. You needn't worry, Mr. Sterling. You sure of it, Silk? Yeah. We gave a pretty big dose of it, didn't we, Dude? We did. Will it prove fatal? Not for a couple of days. But unless some pretty strong measures are taken by a man that knows his business, the sheriff's as good as dead right now. He won't regain consciousness? No. He won't talk, Mr. Sterling. Did you boys hear what the men were saying about him? No. What? He said the sheriff was so scared when they found him that he fainted dead away. They never realized that he was unconscious before they found him, huh? No. That's good. Well, I'm not worried. We're safe enough now. Yeah, that'd feel better if we could have gotten our hands on the affidavits Burley brought back. Well, we got the next best thing. We got Burley, and there's not a shred of suspicion pointing to us. That's right, Silk. Where you going, Dude? Just going outside to see if the excitement's died down. I don't hear any sound from the street, do you, Silk? No. Oh, I guess the men have all gone to the cafes to talk things over. They'll have to find a new sheriff. Maybe I can use my way to put one of you boys in. How'd you like that? You ain't very popular in town, Mr. Sterling. Maybe people don't like me, Slick, but I got ways of making them do what I want. That's true. I guess Dude went out on the porch. Hey, that's Dude. Come on, bring your gun. There he goes. That man's carrying it. Masked man, shoot, shoot him. I might hit Dude. He's getting on his horse. Stop, stop, you. Put that man down. Well, I'll try a shock. Come on, Silver. Men in the cafes on both sides of the street heard the gunshots. The ringing cry of the masked man and the thunder of hooves. They poured from the building. It's the same one that got the sheriff. I'll never forget that voice. What did he do this time? Who is he? Where did he go? Here comes Sterling running down the street. Get after that man. Mound up and get after him. He's got the sheriff. $500 is the man that captures him. We can't follow a trail at night, Sterling. He's taking my friend with him this time. Take torches. Get after him. Look, there he is. There he is down there, waiting for us to come and get him. Well, grab your horses and let's go get them. Come on, I'm after that $500. Come on, come on. There he is. In an instant, a score of men were in the saddle, racing after the white horse with its double burden. The Lone Ranger kept within sight of the pursuers. Can't gain on him. Just keep him in sight. He's heading for the woods. Don't lose him. Remember that $500. Who is he anyhow? When the masked man entered the woods, he no longer watched behind him. He went as fast as possible to camp, where he dropped Dude to the ground and gave quick orders to build up the fire and make a brilliant light. Then he saw the tonneau had brought Jim Burley back to consciousness. Quick plans were made. Hurried, but efficient plans in which Dude figured prominently. There's the fire, boys. Get your guns out. We'll close it. Right. Come on, get away. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Jim Burley. Get your hands up. We want you. We'll take you, Burley. I'll hold a minute, boys. You don't see the masked man or any of his pals, but they're here. And the first man to take a shot at me will regret it sudden. Burley, we... Boys. Boys, don't listen to him. He and the masked man are in cahoots. They're going to trick you. You shut up, dude. I'll talk. You'll talk on a hangman's tree. I don't believe what you said. I'm taking you, Burley. Oh, hey. Pete, that puts your gun out of commission. Now, listen to me. That polecat on the ground there cut the fork sticks to set the trap for Hank Yates. You can't prove that. Oh, can I? Now, listen, you skunk. Let me see that left hand of yours. No. Come on, let me see it. No, no, no. Get away from me. You ain't going to... There, I've got it. Take a look at this man. See that thumb wrapped up? Yeah. He nearly sliced it off with an axe when he cut the sticks. And there's blood in the stumps of those saplings over there. Take a look. Come on. The polecat left his footprints there, too. Plenty of them. But I didn't set the trap. You've got to believe me, boys. Then you admit you did cut the sticks. Well, I... The proof's against you, dude. Well, I didn't fix the trap. Tell him who did, you yellow squealer. You can't get me for trying to murder. I never went that far. Who set the trap? Talk or buy... Sterling did it. Sterling? You see, boys, this polecat knows he can't get around the evidence against him. He'll talk his head off. Why did Sterling do it? Because he thought Hank Yates might have the affidavits that'd send him and Silk and Dude here to jail. He didn't get them from you? No. No, he didn't. But didn't he bribe you? Bribe me? Well, not by a jug full. He captured me and held me prisoner. What's that? You tell him, dude. Yeah, it's true. But I didn't have a hand in it. I didn't give the sheriff any of the drugs or anything. I wasn't... Yes, the critters drugged me so I couldn't talk when you aimed to lynch me. If an Indian friend hadn't known what was wrong and took the right steps, I'd be a gone goose. You'd be a gone goose if that masked man hadn't interfered. Boys, have we been all wrong about this? Go ahead, Jude. Talk some more. I'll tell everything. Come on. I'll tell everything. Come on, go ahead. Sterling sent me and Silk East to capture Burley before he could get back with the evidence he went after. All right, then what? We never did find out what he did with the evidence. And that's the whole story. Now let me go. Let me go. All right, shut up now. I've been in Sterling's cellar for the past week. Did you get that evidence? Sure, I got it. But I suspected a play by Sterling, so I gave the papers to a friend to bring here for me. Here's the papers. I just got them from him. Here's the affidavits that'll put Sterling out of circulation for keeps. Good for you, Jim. Not there, boys. None of you'll be bothered by Sterling's schemes from now on, boys. When he's out of jail for wounding Hank Yates, he goes to jail for another 20 years on these affidavits. But hold on, Jim. Hold on a minute. Who's the masked man? Who is he? He's the Lone Ranger. I'll kill him. I'll kill him. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.
