speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty house. 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, from the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse, Silver, the Lone Ranger rides again! Come on, Silver! Faster, boy, faster! Come on, Silver! Four outlaws crouch beside the trail, waiting for the westbound states. As soon as we finish this stick-up, we head for Elvado. Miles away, masked men looted the bank at Eagle City. They see us! Pit leather to find! Fan out, we'll meet in Elvado! Tell the boys to meet me in Elvado. That was a notorious outlaw speaking in Red Rock. In mud flats, another killer spoke. We'll divvy the loot in Elvado. Yes, Elvado was a rendezvous for hunted men. If the law came close, it was but a short hop to the border and the safety of foreign soil south of the Rio Grande. In the meantime, the fugitives from justice found it convenient to lie low where their identity was lost among strangers. So there are a lot of strangers here, huh, Sheriff? Yeah, that's why my job is tough. Can't tell innocent pilgrims from outlaws. You can't? No. Can't tell what a man is by just looking at him. Take yourself in as example, Mr. Rayner. You say that you're a college instructor traveling on vacation. That's right. Well, you look the part, but for all I know, you could be a killer with a dozen rewards on his head. I see what you mean. Yeah, we get a lot of travelers in Elvada. They stop here on the way to San Antonio to see the Alamo. Of course. The Alamo has become a regular shrine. You've heard of Alamo Anderson, haven't you? No. Well, he's the one that's responsible for the holiday. Oh, I wondered why the flags in Bunning had been hung out. What's going on? Well, we're breaking ground for the new church. Every so often, Alamo Anderson gives the town a lump of cash to start a public building. Indeed. Who is this Alamo Anderson? Oh, just an old man that lives all alone. His house is out on the plain at the edge of Ghost Canyon. The place is haunted. Oh, come, come now, Sheriff. You don't believe that... Well, I said it's haunted. A score of men have questioned the fact and gone there, and none have ever been seen since. But, Sheriff, haven't you investigated? Sure. I've seen the spooks. Yeah, an explosion. Oh, that's just a bomb there. Setting off bombs at the speaker's platform to let the folks know the ceremony's about to start. Oh. Let's go over there and hear the doings. Coming, Rennard? Yes, yes, of course. Sheriff, you, uh... You said you'd seen the spooks at Alamo Anderson. That's right, and it's a plain statement of fact. That's all there is to it. Another bomb. There's quite a crowd at the speaker's platform, ain't there? Yes. Sheriff, where does this old man get his money? Ah, no one knows, but he sure gets it in chunks. He's done a lot for Alvada. A school, a meeting house. Now, why is he called Alamo? Oh, I reckon that's because he lost his best friends in the Battle of the Alamo. David Crockett and Jim Bowie. Jim Bowie? Was he a friend of the old man? One of the best. In fact, the church is being named for him. Jim Bowie Chapel, it's to be called. Sheriff, can you tell me what all the celebrating is for? Eh? What's that sign? My friend and I just got into town. We saw the flags and everything. It's like the 4th of July. Who's your friend? The Indian over there. His name is Tonto. I see. What's your name? Dan Reed. Well, glad to know you. What are you doing in Alvada? Oh, we're camped nearby. We just came into town for supplies. I see. The sheriff likes to question all newcomers, Dan. That's all right. Well, I'll tell you, Dan, Alamo Anderson is behind this celebration. Oh, Sheriff, just a minute. What is it, Renny? I see some friends. I'll go over and speak to them while you're telling the animal man about the haunted house and the spooks. What? Go ahead, Renny. See you later. Sure. You see, Dan, there's an old man living alone near Ghost King. Yeah. Yes, sir. Well, they'll start speeches in a minute. Well, I hope they ain't long-winded. I'm getting thirsty again. There goes another bomb. Eh, I like them bombs. Minds me of the battle of the Shilohs. Don't, Dan, I'm getting so thirsty I could drink water. Boys, listen to me. Hold on a minute, Renny. The sheriff swallowed that professor talk you handed him? Of course he did. There was no reason to doubt me. Me and Link have been waiting for you. Yeah. Bates thought you was having trouble. Now, listen to me. I've got something good. Well, what is it? You know why they're having a celebration? Sure. It's to start a new church. Jim Bowie's church. Bowie? Jim Bowie? He was killed a long time ago at the Alamo. I know that, Bates. When he died, he left a gold mine. Hey, I heard stories of that gold mine. Yeah, me too. He's going to claim a mine he found when he had to go to the Alamo instead. That's right, boys. And he was killed at the battle of the Alamo. He never got back to claim his mine. And it never was found. I think you're wrong, Bates. How's that? Boys, I've studied history. It's quite a story connected with Jim Bowie in his gold mine. I'll tell it to you sometime. What makes you think of it? I'll tell this much right now. You think we can get our hands on Bowie's gold mine? Well, good. That is, if you're not afraid of spooks. Spooks. To get a gold mine out of face old Nick himself. Yeah, they're going to start the speeches. Boys, we'll get together tonight and make our plans. The speeches and ceremonies lasted until after sunset. It was dusk when Dan Reed and Tonto joined the Lone Ranger and darkness had gathered before Dan finished telling about his visit to Elvado as they sat around the campfire. I suppose we should have returned to the camp a lot sooner. No, not at all, Dan. I'm glad you had a chance to see this ceremony. It sure was worth seeing, wasn't it, Tonto? That's right. Golly, they had bombs and everything. Just like a Fourth of July celebration. Who was Jim Bowie, anyway? Jim Bowie? Yes. They named the church for him. They've got a lot of places in Elvado that are named for Jim Bowie. Dan, he was one of the heroes at the Alamo. I know that. But did he have a gold mine? Why, yes, Dan, he did have. That is, he found one. It was an old Indian mine. Jim Bowie went with a handful of men to work the mine. The Indians attacked and drove him away. I see. But Jim Bowie wasn't one to take a licking. He went to San Antonio to get men enough to take and hold the gold mine. It was in the year 1836 during the Texan struggle for independence. Bowie selected his men carefully. He chose only those he knew could be dependent upon to fight to the finish. It took him several weeks to find just the right men. But he finally had his band together. He was talking to them on February the 22nd. Now, boys, I have already talked to each one of you separately. I guess you all know where you stand. Well, we start at daybreak. Each of you will share in the gold. Bowie, someone read up mighty fast. Wait, wait, let's see who it is. Bowie! Dave, what's the matter with you? What's all the excitement? Jim, Jim, Colonel Travis sent me. He needs you. He needs all the men he can get. For what? Scouts report that Santa Ana is on the way here. Santa Ana? Yes. He's got a force of several thousand men. Several thousand? Then our case is hopeless. How many men is Colonel Travis? About 100. Then it is hopeless, Dave. What good would a hundred men be against Santa Ana's army? Travis has to hold. He's got to hold the enemy until our army can get ready. He's planning to make a stand in that Franciscan mission. He hopes to delay Santa Ana. It's a suicide fight, boy, but the future of Texas depends on us. Well, how about it, boys? Who'll go with me? That's it. That's the stuff. Dave, tell Colonel Travis he can count on Jim Bowie and the 50 men I'll bring with me. Good. I'll meet you in the Alamo. Jim Bowie and his men dashed to the Alamo. The addition of this small but hand-picked force gave Colonel Travis a total of about 180 men. Santa Ana was coming to attack with thousands of seasoned fighters. Everything was quickly put in order. All ammunition and provisions were removed from the town and put within the walls of the Alamo. Well, on the 23rd of February, the great Mexican general and his army came into view. Colonel Travis addressed his men. Boys, we're to be attacked by Santa Ana. He has at least 2,000 men. Possibly twice that number. There are just 180 of us. Shall we surrender ourselves and the Alamo or fight to the bitter end? Let us honor that old flag by showing the enemy that an American is not afraid to die for his country and his gods and make ready. Dave, there isn't a chance for any of us to survive. We'll go down fighting, boy. You're right. Get the woman and baby out of here. Get them to safety. What's the colonel talking about? There's an old woman, a servant woman and her child. The colonel wants to get them to safety. I want to see her. Just before the old servant woman was taken from the Alamo, Jim Boy approached her. I'm trusting you with a map. It shows where there's a gold mine. Take it with you. If I survive, I'll come back for it. If I don't, I want you to give that map to someone who'll do good with it. The old woman left. She got to safety with the child and a few minutes later the full fury of Santa Ana's army fell upon the Alamo. A handful of men fought like true Americans. They actually threw back Santa Ana's superior force. The lines were reformed and the enemy charged again and again it was thrown back. Time after time, day after day, Santa Ana's army charged the Alamo. Those Texas fighters held out from February 23rd to March 6th. By that time, there were just six men remaining alive inside the Alamo. Colonel Travis, Davy Crockett, Jim Boy, and three others. All of them had many wounds. Their food was gone. They'd had no rest. The next charge carried Santa Ana's army into the Alamo. And the six who survived two weeks of constant fighting were quickly put to death. Golly. Later, other soldier beat Santa Ana. Yes, he was met and defeated at San Jacinto. The rallying cry of that battle was, remember the Alamo. Then, no one knows what became of the gold mine. Then, what did you ask about the gold mine? Well, all those things that are named for Jim Bowie, those buildings in Elvato. Well, what about them? They're started with money that Alamo Anderson gave the town. What's that? Well, old fellow at Ghost Canyon, him named Alamo Anderson. And he has everything named for Jim Bowie. You say, he's at Ghost Canyon? That's what the sheriff said. I was talking to him. He said that Mr. Anderson lives alone and that his house is haunted by spooks. He said that? Yes, sir. That's right. But Elvato was filled with outlaws. Well, maybe them say Anderson's house haunted to scare outlaw away. That won't stop them. But what... Get the horses and saddle up. What's that? What's that? What's that? I'll tell you while we ride. Get your horses and saddle. Are we going to Elvato? No, Dan. We're going to Ghost Canyon. We're going to see Alamo Anderson. The curtain falls before the next exciting scenes. Please permit us to pause for just a few moments. To continue our story, early evening found Renard with his two friends Bates and Link in a room of the Elvato Hotel. Boys, you'd better keep your voices down. These walls are none too thick. You needn't tell us every night. You're the one that's going to do the talking. Yeah. What was your idea about a gold mine? Where are we going to get a gold mine? Jim Bowie's gold mine. What do you mean? A gold mine that's paid for all the buildings have been put up here in Elvato in Jim Bowie's name. Listen, boys. Jim Bowie found gold but he never got the chance to claim it. He was killed in the Alamo. Exactly. But before he went there, he left the map of his mine with somebody. Nobody ever knew who. You think you know who? Who's your head, Link? Where do you think Alamo Anderson gets his money? Oh. Why do you suppose he insists that all the places in Elvato be named for Jim Bowie? How can we get it? What do we do about it, Renard? Take it away from him. We'll have to leave here if we do. We'll have to leave here anyway. Our stay is, at best, a short one. Sooner or later, some of the lawmen will look for us here. Renard is right about that, Link. We might as well leave tonight after we've learned where Bowie's mine's located. There's only one thing, Renard. Yeah, what's that? They say the Anderson house is haunted. And you believe it? Well, the sheriff himself said he'd seen the spooks there. Ah, there's no such thing. I don't know about that, Renard. I've heard that a lot of men have gone to see Alamo and none came back. That's a good story. It's a very good story for Alamo and the sheriff to tell. It's a perfectly logical story. What do you mean by that? You're afraid to go near the Anderson house. That's the way you're supposed to react. Huh? Anderson and the sheriff both want everybody to fear the place. It's quite likely that those stories of ghosts and spooks have kept everybody else away from there. Oh, I don't know. Is that it keep anyone away? Are you willing to go there, Link? Sure I am. Tonight? Right now. How about you, Bates? I'll go. Thunder, there ain't no spooks. Get your things ready and we'll meet in the saddle shed. Right. How soon? I'll meet both of you there in half an hour. Later the same night, Renard and his partners were in the saddle riding slowly across the plain in the faint light of a new moon. It rained up when they came within view of old Almo Anderson's house. Hold that one. Hold that one. Steady. Steady. Is that the Anderson house or not? That's it. Are you sure? Of course I'm sure. You can see from here that it's a flat roof place. Curious looking. There's Ghost Canyon right beyond. Hey, we said doggone Canyon had another name. What's the matter with your Bates? You losing your nerves? Me? No, I should say not. Hey, what's that howling? That's nothing but the wind and the canyon. That's where it gets the name of Ghost Canyon. It sure sounds like ghosts, don't it? How do you know what a ghost sounds like? Yeah, that's so there. There ain't no such a thing as a ghost. Boys, listen to me. We gotta plan this. We don't want to step into a trap and we don't want to slip up. All right, Renard. What's the plan? It's possible that Alamo will have some sort of trick to protect himself. if we all go there together we're likely to step into a trap. Now, Bates, you and I will go ahead. Link will follow close behind us. All right. The two of us will go into the house and get the drop on the old man. He's likely up and around. I see a light in one of the windows. Link, you stay outside near the window where you can keep an eye on things. Keep your gun ready, Link. You just leave it to me. All right. Come on, I'll go the rest of the way. Get up, boy. I'll be glad when this job is done. Just remember, Bates, we'll all be rich if it pans out as I think it will. What was that? My horse is getting steady there, Mark. Steady there. There's nothing. It's just some kind of an animal. What's the matter with your mouth? I don't know. I'm scared of something. He's shaking. He knows this place ain't natural. My horse has got it, too. All right, dismount. Leave the horses here. Steady there. Steady, boy. So are the reins around that dead tree. The tree is the only thing that's standing here. And that's dead. Stop it, Bates. Hang it all, Renard. There's something downright unnatural about this place. My horse knows it. So does mine. Never been this skittish before. Just think about the gold we'll have when we leave here. You boys ready? I'm as ready as I ever will be. Just a minute, Renard. What is it? Look, maybe it'd be better if the three of us went together. So you've turned yellow. You're afraid of spooks. No, it ain't that. Then stick to our plans. We'll wait outside and watch through the window. Come on, Bates. I I see Alamo Anderson. So do I. He's sitting in there reading right by the lamp on the table. He won't read much longer. Here we are. We gonna bust right in? Yeah. I'll be right here watching and listening. Ready to help if you need me. Right. Come on, Bates. All right, Anderson. Stick them up. Well, what's this? Visitors? Visitors is right. Well, you don't need to hold a gun to call on me. Come in. Sit down. Not here to sit, Alamo. Oh, we're here on business and it won't take long. Business? You've got Jim Bowie's gold mine. I have? You have. And we want to know where it is. For a good many years, people have wondered what became of the map of Jim Bowie's mine. Now we know the answer. Gentlemen, others have come here before you and said the same thing. They have, huh? Yes. The spooks got them. What? It's true. Do you know, boys, the sheriff is the only man who's ever seen the spooks and gone back to Elvaro to tell about them? Never mind that, Alamo. We don't frighten that easy. Oh, so you've come to rob an old man. That's the story. You know, two kinds of men come to Elvaro. Honest men and crooks. The crooks come here. I wonder where you men are wanted by the law. That don't enter into the picture at all. Where's the gold mine? But I haven't said there is a gold mine. Now look, we're not wasting another minute. You'll hand it over or I'll put a bullet through you and tear this house down looking for us. Well, men, I've only one hiding place and every time I'm forced to reveal it, the spooks appear. We'll take that chance. I wouldn't if I were you. No. If you leave now, nothing will happen. Uh, what'll happen if the spooks do appear? You'll never return to Elvaro. We don't want to return to Elvaro. But you must have already realized that the spooks are around here. Didn't your horses show fear? Say, Bernard, this old galoot is... Bates. Where's your hiding place? Very well. You ask for it. Just move that picture on the wall. The picture of the Alamo. There's an opening in the wall behind it. You move it. Very well. I was afraid I'd have a quiet evening. Afraid? You... Steady, Bates. Picture is moved. Reach into that opening and bring out everything that's there. But see that you do it slow. And don't try to pull out a gun or we'll blast you. You really want me to reach in there? So badly that if you don't we'll shoot. Very well. Here goes. What's that? Drop your guns. Lions. Call them off. Call them off. Help, help. Drop those guns, you hear. All right, spooks. Down. Down, spooks. Here's your food. Why, you couple of mountain lions. Look at them eating that grub. Calm as you please. Oh, they're quite tame. They're playful as kittens. You see, gentlemen, I always take their food from that hole in the wall. Why, you old... They always act that way. Startling, isn't it? You mean to say that those beasts are harmless? Oh, quiet. They wouldn't know how to fight. Oh. I raise them from kittens. But they do serve as a distraction while I get the drop on fools who think they can outwit an old man. They're not. Shut up. Just keep your hands up. I'll rope you both. I suppose they frightened your horses, didn't they? Horses often catch their scent. Just drop that gun, Alamo. What? I said, Link. Yeah, I waited until I heard him say the critters was harmless. I said drop that gun. So, you were smarter than the others. Yeah, we were. You still want Jim Bowie's gold. It seems to be a stalemate. You have the drop on me and I have the drop on your friends. You can shoot me but I'll still be able to get off one shot, perhaps two. Not if I shoot your gun. Good work, Link. Bates, get your gun. We'll finish off those molten lines before we go to work on Anderson. Right. It would take the rankest kind of a craven to shoot those harmless animals. There's room for argument there but we won't take the time. You get that one, Bates. Right. Oh, my shoulder. Someone. Hey, an Indian. I'm a mess, man. No, no, no. I'm wounded. He picks you. I stated, Tonto, the Lone Ranger's knocked the other one out. The Lone Ranger. Taking the crooks, Link, Bates, and Renard completely by surprise, the Lone Ranger and Tonto quickly overpowered them. In a moment, we're to hear from the lips of Alamo the secret of his mysterious wealth. Make those ropes good and tight, Tonto. Uh-huh. Me fix them? These fellas not get way. I could rope them myself the same as I have the others. The others? Yes. You see, my friend, two kinds of strangers come to Elvado. Honest men and outlaws. The sheriff has no way of knowing which is which, so he lets everyone know about me, Alamo Anderson. He told Tonto and me about you? Yes. The crooks know about Jim Boy and the gold mine he's supposed to found. They think I hold the secret of that mine, so they come here to steal it from me. Like these three? Well, no, these three were more original than the others. They would have gotten me if you hadn't appeared. By the way, why did you come? I was in town this afternoon. You were? Yes, Dan, in disguise. I didn't know that. I heard something about a plot to steal a gold mine. I see. That's why you came here so fast. Yes, Dan. Help. These fellas tired now. Should we take them to town, Alamo? No, no, thank you. The sheriff will call for them in the morning as usual. Oh? He'll learn where they're wanted and turn them in for the rewards. When enough rewards accumulate, Elvada will have another public building in the name of Jim Boy. I see. Come on, Dan. Alamo won't eat us anymore. No, sir. Alamo and sheriff got plenty good scheme. Plenty good scheme. Thank you. Thank you for helping me. By the way, Alamo, is there really a gold mine? I've often wondered about that. Yes, I've often wondered. Come on, Silver. You have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.
