With his fateful 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. Come on, Sylvie, down the trail, big fellow. I'm Sylvie. Jay Carter and his daughter Mary Lou had arrived in the frontier town of Little Bend on the morning train from the east. Now, riding in the spring rank wagon, driven by old Joe Bliss, they were approaching the main buildings of the Circle Star Ranch. Old Joe held the team with a steady trot while he spoke to Mr. Carter. Yep, I told old Amos Gray you was coming out to see him. I told him what for. I'm glad you did, Joe. We'll be able to get down to business that much quicker. Yeah, maybe you will, and then again, maybe you won't. You ain't the first fellow that's tried to buy the Circle Star, you know. Goodness, I don't see what's so terribly valuable about the place. Those buildings look ready to fall down any moment. Yeah, yeah, maybe they will. But you see, miss, you can't judge a place entirely by buildings. This Circle Star outfit happens to be a man's ranch, if you know what I mean. Oh? Yeah. Old Amos lost his wife some 12, 15 years back. Since then, well... I understand. Since then, the place has gone to rack and ruin. No, ma'am. Like I said, this is a man's outfit. Better than 40,000 acres to the Circle Star. It's mighty good land. Good, because Amos takes care of it. He don't never take nothing from the land without putting something back. Oh, you mean he pays more attention to the land and his cattle and horses than he does to his living quarters and other buildings. That's exactly what I mean. You see, the only buildings Amos gives a hoat about is the barns. Yes, sirree. And I do reckon at that his horses has got a lot better living quarters than he has himself. Well, at any rate, I'll give you odds, Joe, that I own the Circle Star, lock, stock, and barrel, within 24 hours. You're just wasting your time, Mr. Carter. I think our friend Amos Gray will understand the language I'm going to talk. Huh? Well, what kind of language do you mean? Amos don't talk nothing but plain, everyday American. Well, I'm referring, Joe, to the language of lucre. It makes powerful, strong talk. Huh? Oh, I see. You mean money. Well, I still say you're wasting your time. No, Joe. You're wasting my time. Can't those horses go faster? You just can't wait for Amos Gray to tell you to go jump in the brook, can you? After I buy the Circle Star, the first thing I'm going to do is start raising good horses. Good horses, do you hear? Yeah, yeah, I hear you, Mr. Carter. I sure do. Get up! You broken down snowpokes! Get up! Of course I realize that you haven't offered the ranch for sale, Mr. Gray. And what's more, I don't intend to. Well, the Circle Star is my home. I put better than 30 years of hard work in this place. I'm well aware of that. And I'm prepared to make you a very generous offer. Well, I ain't interested. Cal Benerton offered me $85,000 for the spread. Yes, and when I told him I wasn't interested, he jumped it to $100,000. Well, that seems like a great... Come in, Roy, come in. This is my segundo, Roy Baker. Roy, this is Miss Carter. How do you do? And this here's her dad, Mr. Carter. At least I'll make your acquaintance. I didn't mean to interrupt, Mr. Amos, but I... Sit down, boy, sit down. Well, these folks is trying to talk me into selling the Circle Star. Oh? Tell me, Mr. Baker, what is a segundo? Why, a... A segundo... A segundo means foreman, ma'am. Me as I mean. Roy's my foreman. Darn good one, too. I was just telling Mr. Carter here how Cal Benerton tried to buy the Circle Star for $100,000. That's a big price. Sure it is. Mighty near knocked me off my feet when I heard it. But I didn't sell out. I wonder... Hmm? Hmm? I was wondering... Would $200,000 knock you off your feet, Mr. Gray? $200,000? Why, you sure talk big money, Mr. Carter. My daughter and I are staying at the hotel in Little Bend. Perhaps you'd like to consider my offer and get in touch with me tomorrow morning, eh? Yeah. Yeah, sure. I... I'll get in touch with you. Of course, I'm prepared to make this a cash transaction. Come, Mary Lou. Nice to have met you, Mr. Baker. Uh, yeah. Goodbye, Mr. Baker. Goodbye, Mr. Gray. The following day, Jay Carter became the new owner of the Circle Star Ranch. And almost immediately, the power of his wealth was applied to the old place. From distant cities came architects, construction men, and a score of workmen. Day after day, long wagon trains carrying expensive building materials rolled up to the Circle Star. The work went forward rapidly. And gradually, the old buildings disappeared to be replaced by massive new barns and sheds and stables. And most important to Jay Carter and his daughter, a huge mansion of a house. A few days later, Dan reported to the Lone Ranger. Oh, boy, oh, boy. Hey, Dan, look like him have news, all right. I'm anxious to know what he's found out. Hello, Dan. Hi, there. What did you learn at Little Ben? Plenty. In the first place, it's true that Amos Gray sold the Circle Star, a man from the East border, for $200,000. No wonder Amos Gray sold out. Oh, Peller must be plenty rich to pay such a big price. Well, his money isn't doing him much good right now. Not until he can find some men to work the place for him. Having trouble with his men, huh? What happened? Seems like he's been making the cowboys do all sorts of odd jobs around the house. And then today, Mr. Carter, that's the new owner's name. He came to town with Roy Baker and some of the men. Well, his troubles can't be too serious if Roy Baker is still working for the Circle Star. Roy's a valuable man. His troubles are plenty serious. Roy got mad this afternoon and quit his job. Oh. Baker fella must be mad, all right. Why him quit job, Dan? They were unloading a fancy racing horse, an imported English stallion, down at the railroad siding. And quite a bunch of people were standing around, kidding about the horse. That better boy, he's likely to break right in the middle. I want to. What did he use a horse like that for? He looks like he was walking on stilts. Ah, you, you yokels don't know a good horse when you see one. Wait a minute, Mr. Carter. These fellas are just kidding, see? I paid $3,000 for that stud. There isn't a better horse in the country. $3,000? Dollars? Mr. Carter, you didn't wait for your change. Baker, get these stupid people out of the way and unload my horse. Immediately, do you hear? Yeah, I hear. And I don't like what I hear. Oh, really? What is it in particular that you don't like? Oh, Father Roy, please. Please, let's not quarrel. Roy, let's get the horse in the middle. I don't like to hear anybody call my friends stupid. And these people are my friends. I'll see you here, Baker. As long as you're working for me... You've been throwing your weight around mighty big since you bought the Circle Star. And you made my job ten times tougher than whoever it was before. That's ridiculous. You've come from a place where money means everything. You're all wrapped up in the wonderful power of money. Well? You're going to find out, Mr. Carter, that men are a lot more powerful than money out here in the West. You've insulted every man working for the Circle Star in one way or another. And they've been staying on because I begged them not to let me down. Nonsense. Nonsense. They work for me because I pay higher wages than any other rancher in the valley. Rancher, huh? You sure make that word sound funny. Roy, please. Let's get Royal Laddy unloaded and start for the ranch. Royal Laddy, huh? Oh, that's a pretty name. And he's kind of pretty, too. But I reckon that's just about as far as it goes. Baker, I've always been under the impression that you Western men knew a lot about horses. I see now that you don't. I'll wager $1,000 with any of you that there isn't a horse in this country that can beat Royal Laddy. There you go again, throwing that big bankroll in our teeth. Well, in the first place, there ain't nobody here got that kind of money. Hey, wait a minute, boys. And in the... Hold on. I got that kind of money, and gambling is my business. Oh. This is Dude Laney. And like he says, gambling is his business. I'll take that bet you offer, Carter. Fine. I'll give you one week to find a horse to run against my stallion. I'll be ready. And I'll give you one week, Mr. Carter, to find someone to take my place as foreman of the Circle Star Ranch. Judging from the things you've just told us, it would seem that Mr. Carter's done a very thorough job of antagonizing a lot of people. Golly. I wish you could see that fancy stallion of his. I intend to. Also, I mean to see Roy Baker and have a talk with him. Well, you think Baker thought of wrong to quit job? Roy's a good man, Toto. And it's his business whether he stays at the Circle Star or leaves. Ah. Newcomers like this man, Carter, men with a lot of wealth, can be invaluable to this country if they use their money wisely. If they don't have wisdom to go with their wealth, they create nothing but trouble. Come on. Let's saddle up. Here, Silver. Come, Scout. Here, Victor. Come on, boy. It'll be dark by the time we get to the Circle Star, said he's Silver. Easy, fella. Easy, boy. You know Roy Baker pretty well, huh? Well enough to know that he wouldn't quit a job where he was needed. Maybe Carter, fella, not care about ranching. Maybe him just want fancy house to live in and fancy racehorses out. If he's that kind of a man, he has no business owning 40,000 acres of good cattle ground, regardless of his wealth. Too many hard-working ranchers looking for good land to let the Circle Star be turned into a show place. Ready to ride? Yeah, all right. Are you ready? Uh, Kimo Sabe. Yes, Tonto? What about Dude Laney? Me remember Dude Laney. So do I. And you can be sure that if he bet a thousand dollars with Carter, he doesn't intend to lose. Golly. Do you think Laney will find a horse to beat Carter's stallion? Let's go look at this fancy racehorse before we try to answer that. Come on, Silver. Get him up to the Couch. Get up, Victor. Mary Lou Carter walks slowly out of the big new ranch house into the cool night air. And her thoughts were of Roy Baker. Somehow, the stars shining above did not seem as bright or as big or as friendly. But the girl realized that Roy would be leaving the ranch within a few days. Suddenly, as the girl rounded the corner of the corral. What in the world's wrong, child? What frightened you? Down by the corral. I just saw them. Saw whom? I thought he was so nice. It's Roy Baker, Daddy. He's out there with some outlaws. Outlaws? Yes. And they were looking at the black stallion. A masked man, an Indian, and... My thunder, wait till I get my gun. 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. Jay Carter was a greenhorn to the West in many ways. But the wealthy owner of the Circle Star was not lacking in physical courage. Hearing from his daughter Mary Lou that Roy Baker was meeting with a masked man and an Indian at the corral where his prized stallion was kept, Carter quickly grabbed the gun and strode angrily out of the house and then... Baker! Roy Baker! Yeah? Yeah, what's on your mind, Mr. Carter? Those men, those outlaws. What were you doing by the corral there? You'd better calm down. Stop waving that gun around. Might go off and hurt someone. If I'd got here a moment sooner, it would have gone off. So my fancy racing horse, as you call them, seems to be worth stealing, huh, Baker? Now, just a minute. Don't interrupt me. I've had enough of your stupid impertinence. My daughter saw you talking to those men. A masked man and an Indian. Mary Lou? Get your things together and get off this ranch, Baker, right now. Immediately, before I go to the sheriff. Dad! Dad, you wouldn't do that. Perhaps Roy was just... Oh, wouldn't I, though? Mary Lou, I... Those men weren't outlaws. They were... I'm sorry, Roy. You're... You're asking me to believe too much. I saw the mask on that man's face and... And the Indian. All right. I, uh... I hope I'll see you again, Mary Lou. When I can explain. Get going, you contemptible sneak. And if I ever catch you even trying to speak to my daughter, I'll blast the living daylights out of you. Dude Lenny sat in his room at the Little Bend Hotel. The gambler's face was smiling pleasantly as he spoke to Frisco Lawson and Blackie Moore. I didn't realize what a swell thing I was getting into when I made that bet with Carter. You mean you found the horse that'll beat his? No, Blackie. I found something a whole lot better. Listen. You remember Roy Baker got mad and give Carter one week's notice? Yeah, I remember, dude. Well, last night out at the Circle Star, they got into another row. And old man Carter fires Baker on the spot. Chased him off the place with a six-gun. Yeah? What was the row about? Well, Carter catches Baker snooping around the corral where he keeps his prize horse, see? Oh, what's wrong about that? Baker was still working there, wasn't he? Sure, only it's after dark and there's some other gents there with him. Suspicious looking fellas. One of them wearing a mask. I don't serve him. Baker ain't no owl hoot, is he? And if he ain't now, he soon will be. Maybe Carter figured that he was going to steal his horse, huh? Maybe. Of course that's what he figured. Now, it's up to us to see that he ain't disappointed. Hey, what about the race? What about the thousand bucks you put up? Ah, Blackie, you ain't got no more brains than Frisco here. When I made that bet with Carter, we both put up a thousand dollars. Yeah, yeah. And it was understood that if either one failed to show up for the race, he had to forfeit the bet, see? Oh. Yeah. Oh. So we swipe the black stallion, and when the day of the race comes along, we collect the thousand simoleons, huh? Oh, I collect the thousand, Blackie. And we move that fancy racehorse up north away. Pedal him for a good price, and Baker gets the blame. Hey, that's a swell idea, ain't it, Blackie? Sure is. Leave it to dude. He knows how to figure, all right. So now you know what's up. Get out close to the Circle Star, where you can watch the place. This afternoon, you hear? Yeah. And when it comes dark, you slip up and get that stallion. Take him up in the hills and hide him out until we're ready to travel. We'll get him, Bill. See that you cover your trail on the way back to the hideout. I'll meet you there tonight. In the Lone Ranger's camp, the masked man listened attentively to the news that Tonto brought from the town of Little Bend. It was late afternoon. Maybe it's just as well that Carter saw us riding away from the Circle Star last night. How do you mean, Kimisabe? Roy Baker, fella? Him getting big trouble because we go there. Naturally, Carter would be suspicious, seeing strange men about the corrals at night. But I'll admit it does make things look bad for Roy. But he was quitting his job anyway. Yes, in a few days wouldn't make much difference. Except if Carter's willing to believe that Roy Baker would steal his horse... That's what people say in town. Carter say Baker get mad and try steal horse so Carter lose bet. Yes, I know. The bet he made with Dude Laney. Tonto, after seeing that stallion last night, I don't think Dude Laney can produce a horse that will beat him. Gosh, that black stallion looked awfully, well, fragile to me. In a sense, he is fragile, Dan. He's a thoroughbred. You mean... That black stallion is from a purebred racing strain. On a good, smooth racetrack, he'd be hard to beat. I'll bet Silver could beat him. We might have a chance to find out. What do you mean, Kimisabe? In view of what happened last night, I think Dude Laney will try to steal the stallion. In that way, Carter will have to forfeit the wager he made. And Laney will have an expensive horse to sell in some other section of the country. Ah, and Carter, fella, him be sure to put blame on Roy Baker. Right. That's what we're going to try to prevent. Tonto, you and Dan listen carefully. If Dude Laney tries to steal that horse... The great thoroughbred stallion, Royal Laddy, whinnied nervously as the small, flat, inkly saddle was cinched on his back. His magnificent head arched as the bridle and martingale were adjusted. And a short distance back, a group of circle-star cowboys watched wonderingly. Then, wearing a finely tailored riding habit, Mary Lou Carter stepped forward and swung lightly into the saddle. Easy, fella. Easy, fella. I'll be careful, Mary Lou. Remember, he hasn't had any exercise lately, so don't let him run too much at first. Don't worry, Daddy. I'll take good care of your prize. Come on, lad. A little slow trot will do for a starter. Come on, boy. Eagerly, the thoroughbred trotted forward, covering the wide expanse of rangeland with long, effortless stride. And the girl thrilled with the flexion of his running, gradually letting the great stallion out until he settled into a steady, rhythmic canter. Then, on a timbered slope, far back from the ranch house... Blackie, look yonder. That's him. That's the black stallion, sure enough. Say, that son of a gun looks pretty good running that way. Yeah, he looks pretty, and that's all. And that girl, she knows how to ride him, too. Yeah, a lot of fancy stuff, that's all. I'll bet you even my spot horse here could catch that fancy stuff. Say. Huh? Listen, Frisco. If that horse is worth so much to Laney, and if that girl's father's so all-fired rich... Yeah, he's rich, all right. Hey, look, she's coming this way. We better get out of sight. Wait a minute. Why don't we get that horse right now? And the girl, too? Huh? Oh, no. You do the job like dude said. Never mind trying to... Well, I tell you, a dude wouldn't want us to pass up a chance like this. I don't know, Blackie. I tell you, that corner fella would pay anything to get that girl back. If we had her, we could all be rich. Well, I don't know. There she goes. Come on, let's ride. Get in. Come on, boy. She sees us. She's whooping up her horse. Come on, boy. Come on. We ain't got a chance. Look at that black horse go. Keep going. He won't last long. I tell you, it's no use. We can't... The stallion stumbled. He's down. Come on. We got them both. Get up. Get up. Far back on a distant ridge, Dan Reed watched the girl lash her horse in a desperate attempt to escape. Then, as the stallion fell and Laney's men made the swift capture, the boy whirled his horse and went racing back at breakneck speed. A few moments later... Oh, boy. Oh, Victor. Oh, steady, fella. Steady. Tano. Tano, they've got the horse and the girl. Quick, Dan. Which way do they go? To the north. Into the hills. Lone Ranger gets right. Only him not know. They try to get girl, too. Dan, you ride plenty fast and get Roy Baker. Tano, get Lone Ranger. Come on, Victor. Get him up. It ain't my fault you're here. I only wanted the horse. You unspeakable snake. My father will have a hundred men on your trail. Oh, no, he won't. He'll have a hundred men on Roy Baker's trail, maybe, but not on Dude Laney's. Now, come on. Get along in the next room, gang. Remember, the more fuss you make, the tougher it'll be on you. Point is, you are here now, and you're worth big money to us. So we might as well cash in all around. You'll find out that my father isn't the soft-hearted fool you think he is. Good night. I can just get rid of it. The rope's off in a jiffy. Just a minute. Hold still. That's it. Here. Now, you get back. Now, come on. Out the window. But how did you find me? I didn't. Some friends of mine. They're outside now, waiting for me to get you out of here before they attack Dude Laney. Look out! They've spotted the Lone Ranger. Hurry, get out of here. Your black horse is ready for you. Now, hurry! The Lone Ranger. Give us a hurry. Watch Laney. In get way. Laney. Getting away on the black stallion. The mask man. That's the Lone Ranger. Come on, Silver. Now's your chance to show that black horse how to run. That's it, big fella. Run. Faster, Silver. You're gaining, Silver, old boy. You're gaining. Yard by yard. You're gaining. We're close. There's your rain, Silver. That's it. We'll have him in a moment. Mr. Silver. Just one more stride. There. Oh, Silver. Close. Teddy. Easy. Oh, Teddy now. Now that your gun's empty, what's next, Mr. Laney? I never thought, I never thought it could be done. Having overtaken Laney, the mask rider disarmed him quickly and returned the great imported stallion to its chagrined owner. The first thing for you to do, Daddy, is offer an apology to Roy. Oh, now, now, that isn't this. Well, from the way you tell of that mask man overtaking my, uh, fancy horse, seems that I owe everyone an apology for claiming to own the best horse in the country. Well, those three outlaws are in jail, thanks to Roy and his friends. That's right. Now, Roy, suppose we, uh, we forget all this silly business of raising fancy horses and just settle down to common sense ranching. Now you're talking, Mr. Carter. Yes, sir. We'll spend real money building up our cattle herds. We'll buy... Now, listen, Dad. If you still want to talk the, uh, the language of lucre, as you call it, go find someone besides Roy, will you? What? Because I have, uh, well, a different language to... Hmm? Oh, I see. The language of love, eh? Well... You have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated. Well... Hey, man. Hello, man. Well, you, I see... Boom, but, uh, you are... I don't even have memory, but... You will review... There, uh, you.. You have to donate to your… And the name of the tutor. Yeah, oh, yeah. There, uh, you come in. The name, yeah, yeah. And the name, you may be. You're working foricit if you do it. And the name, yeah, yeah, yeah. His name is resigning, yeah. And that's definitely worth it. And the name of the idea... Yes, that's all. I'll never do that. Yeah. Okay, yeah, again. Yeah. I'll show you. Good love you. That's okay.
