A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty hell silver, the Lone Ranger. With his 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, from the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse, Silver, the Lone Ranger rides again. Come on, Silver! Hurry, big fellow! I am Silver! Our story had its beginning in a small town in Indiana. In his richly appointed office, Andrew Lockwood relaxed and smiled a friendly greeting at the young man who stood in the doorway. Oh, uh, come in, John! Come in! You, uh, wanted to see me, sir? Hmm? Oh, yes, yes, of course. Uh, sit down, won't you? Mm-hmm. Cigar? No, thank you, Mr. Lockwood. Well, I suppose we may as well get down to cases, John. You, um, probably know why I wanted to talk with you. If it's about Amy, sir, I... It is about Amy, Mr. Chapman. Hmm? I think you'd better change your plans. I'm sorry. You know how I feel about your daughter. I'm not interested in your feelings, young man. Hmm. Unfortunately, my daughter thinks she's in love with you. She wants to marry you and join you in this, uh, uh, this crazy scheme of going west. Of all the stupid, muddle-headed ideas... You may be right, Mr. Lockwood. You may be right. Maybe. Why, you stupid... On the other hand, you may be wrong. I won't try to explain my reasons for wanting to go west. Chapman, I know why you're going. You've got a fool's dream about big money. You've been listening to the stories that come back from the gold fields. Here. A thousand dollars, Chapman. Take it and forget that you ever saw my daughter. Go on, go on. Take it. Then clear out. Go to California or Timbuktu, for all I care. Well? You, um... You're very generous, Mr. Lockwood. I'll go. But you keep your thousand dollars. And if Amy is willing to be my wife, we'll hit the rainbow trail together. Right. Rainbow trail, indeed. The rainbow trail. If you think I'm going to let my daughter be taken in by... Hello, Amy. Hello, John. Hello, Dad. Amy, we were just talking about... So I see. Hmm. Must have been an interesting conversation, or, uh... Was all this money just lying on your desk? Uh, you see, uh... John, dear, you... You didn't sell me off for a measly thousand dollars, did you? No, darling. I was holding out for $1,500. Now, stay here. Amy, you've got to get this rainbow trail foolishness out of your head. Do you hear? I'm not going to have my daughter... Here, Dad. Take your money and put it away. Later, maybe John will sell you some preferred stock in his gold mine and... Bosh! Gold mine, rainbow trail, of all the... Besides, those banknotes are no good out West. People don't trust them. Amy. Are you going to throw your life away on this scatterbrained young fool, this... I'm going to marry John Chapman. I'm going to marry him because I love him very dearly. I'm going to marry him for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, to love, honor, and obey, to have, and to hold, to cherish, and sing. John Chapman and his young wife followed the rainbow trail westward, answering the siren call of danger, the challenge of great adventure on the new frontier. Inside the overland stagecoach, young Chapman yawned and glanced at his watch. Outside, the rain fell steadily. I don't see how they ever die of thirst out here. It's been raining for two days. I bet it doesn't rain out in the desert like this. Don't forget, we're way up in the mountains. Hmm? It's four o'clock. We ought to be in Santa Fe before midnight. You warm enough? Mm-hmm. Know what I was just thinking? Hmm? How muddy and dreary it is along the trail. Hmm. And then I thought, when it stops raining, the sun will come out. And somewhere out yonder, the painted cliffs, that's where we'll see our rainbow. That's right, honey. And you know what I'm going to do? Hmm? Well, I'm going to make the driver stop the stage. Then I'm going to climb right up those painted cliffs and stake a claim on that rainbow. Yes, sir. The Mr. and Mrs. John Chapman. That's wonderful, darling. Pull out those horses! John, what in the world was there? Must be a hold-up. Hold-up? Oh, John, I'm afraid. Why don't hit those horses and shag them down the trail? Head of the line, folks. Step out here with your hands up. Come on, step out. Come on, Amy. I'll help you. Throw down that mail powder. Ain't no mail in this coat, you maverick. Throw it down, Grandpa Ford. Come up and get it. I ain't carrying no mail. Quit arguing with the old fool and get it yourself. Now, see here. Hey, you leave them horses alone. All I'm carrying is too fast. You! All right, Slim. Now go look for yourself. Sure interrupted him, Chief. Permanent. Shorty, hurry up and turn those horses, Liz. Yeah, yeah, just a minute. How are you, fella? Hand over your wallet. Yeah, in that watch you're carrying. Get up there! Get up, you guys! Hurry it up, fella. We ain't got all day. Here you are. Oh, John, wait. We can't. Stay back, lady. Take your filthy hands off my wife, you devil. Kind of spunky, ain't you, mister? Maybe I can take some of that out of you. Why, you... John, please don't. John, look out! Why, you... You murdering dog. You shot her. Her own fault for getting in the way. I'll kill you for that with my bare hands. What, you... Oh! All right, you jaspers. Hustle up there. Hey! We made a mistake. The old guy was telling the truth, Clausen. What do you mean? He wasn't carrying the mail, not a speck of it. Well, a bullet. Come on. Let's get out of here. What about them two? Come on, come on. Never mind them. Let's ride. Slowly, John Chapman recovered consciousness. The rain had stopped. A few feet away lay the body of the dead driver, and by his side, the unconscious form of his wife, Amy. Desperately, the grief-stricken boy lifted the girl in his arms and stumbled down the muddy trail. And then... Oh, thank... Thank God. Someone's coming. Amy. Amy, darling. Please. Please don't. Don't. Steady. What's happened here? We saw the stagecoach horses running away, and I... Another outlaw. Wearing a mask. Another crazy killer. Better get a grip on yourself. Tell us what happened. Then try to hustle some dry wood to get a fire going. Get the bedroles off both horses. Yes, sir. What are you going to do? Let me help you here. No. No, don't. Don't. Are you going to let this girl die, or will you let me help you save her life? Amy. Amy. Over here. This way. Uh, you can help by getting my blanket roll. Is she... She's badly wounded, mister. But she'll live if we hurry. What can you do? Clean the wound, stop the bleeding, and get a doctor. Doctor? A doctor in this wilderness? It's one at Deer Creek, 20-some miles from here. 20 miles? But how... Maybe he won't come. Maybe... And maybe this girl will die if you don't get busy. Stop asking questions and help me, will you? Go on, get those blankets. Swiftly, skillfully, the masked man cleaned and dressed the ugly gunshot wound. Then, with hurried instructions to Dan Reed, he leaped upon his great white stallion and raced away into the gathering darkness. Come on, Silver. A short while later, Dr. Will Adams heard the back door of his home open and close. And then the flickering lamplight fell upon the masked man standing in the doorway of the doctor's study. Dr. Adams, you're wanted badly. Huh? Oh, well, how badly are you wanted, my friend? The Santa Fe stage was held up. The driver killed, and one of the passengers, a girl, badly wounded. Will you come right away? Right away? Where? About 20 miles east of here. 20 miles? Are you out of your mind? I gave her first aid treatment as best I could, but I think that you... Well, what more do you expect me to do? You can forestall any danger of infection, doctor. I'm not wheeling a horse and buggy no 20 miles over these muddy roads tonight, and that's that. You're going. I'm going. Say, you've got a nerve, mister. Yes. You've got a pretty good-looking six-gun there, too. Kind of fast on the draw, ain't you? That's your bag. Let's get started. Now, see here. Be reasonable. First place, I've been out in the rain all day. It isn't raining now. Besides, how do I know this ain't just some owl who trick? Maybe it's some no-good outlaw that's wounded. How do I know... You don't. But for the time being, you'll have to take my word for it. Come on, move. Hey, hey, hey, point that the other way. I'm coming. It was daylight when old Dr. Adams returned to Deer Creek, bringing the wounded girl with him. In the doctor's office, John Chapman waited with the Lone Ranger and the boy Dan Reed. Doctor, hi. Is Amy going to be all right? I gave her a sleeping potion. My wife's getting her to bed now. She's had a bad shock. Needs rest more than anything else. Rest and quiet. But she will be all right. Yes, I think so, Mr. Chapman. Perhaps in a month or so... A month. We were going to California, following the Rainbow Trail. Rainbow. It ought to be called the Heartbreak Trail. What are your plans? Plans? To get back to civilization as soon as my wife is able to travel. To get away from a country where a human life isn't worth a second thought. Oh, plans. Yeah, I had plans, all right. Aren't you quitting rather easily? Easily? Do you think it's easy for a man to see his wife get shot by a crazy killer for no reason at all? Do you think it's easy to see... It's always easy to give up. In this case, you might find it very difficult to locate the men responsible for the shooting. What? What are you driving at? Dan. Yes, sir? I'm going back to our old campsite, Dan. Meet me there. Bring Mr. Chapman with you, I... Back inside, mister. And no tricks. Well, hello, Sheriff. Well, thanks for the tip, Doc. You're welcome, Sheriff. Only don't take your finger off that trigger. This gent is plenty fast. Ah, don't you worry. Soon as your wife come over and said one of the Clausen gang was here, I got a half a dozen fellas down at the restaurant and hot-footed right over. They got the house surrounded. Mister, you better unbuckle those gun belts and let them drop. Then we'll peel off that mask and have a look at you. 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. In the doctor's office at Deer Creek, the sheriff repeated his order to the Lone Ranger. You hear what I said? Unbuckle them gun belts and let them drop. And get that mask off your face. What about Mr. Chapman and the boy? You're not taking them to jail, are you? Of course not. It's you that's going to jail. Dan. Yes, sir? Since you and Mr. Chapman are free to go, you'd better get started. Sure. Come on, Mr. Chapman. Oh, Dan. Huh? You might speak to my friend Silver. I'll be needing help, you know. Oh, sure. Sure, you bet. Let's go, Mr. Chapman. Hey, do you need help to unbuckle those gun belts? And who's this fellow Silver, huh? Silver is quite a fellow, Sheriff. One of my best friends. Yeah. One of these days, I'm going to have all your best friends in jail. Including your boss, Nate Claussen. Hey, Sheriff. Did you tell this fellow and the kid they could go? Sure did. All right, go on. Say, there was two white horses out there. That pair's riding away double. The, uh, other white horse is over by the window, Sheriff. See? Huh? Well, no, I don't... Stop that fellow! He just slugged the sheriff! Stop him! Are you still... Oh, stay big fella. Easy now. Many hours later, when the masked man rained his great horse, Silver, to a halt at a secluded spot near the river to find Dan Reed and John Chapman waiting for him. Golly, sir, I was worried. We were beginning to think that you... That I'd been captured? No, but it was necessary to do some hard riding to keep the sheriff's men on my trail. Huh? But why did you try to keep them on your trail? So that you and I'd be sure of getting away on Victor. Mr. Chapman didn't want to ride away with me at first. That was before Dan told me who you were. What I can't understand is why you didn't identify yourself to the sheriff. The sheriff believes me to be a member of the Claussen gang. Well, for the time being, I'd prefer not to change his mind. Oh. Well, I've... I've got to get back. It was a mistake to come out here in the first place. Oh, perhaps not. I'm going to Deer Creek and start making arrangements to get my wife back east. This is no country for a woman. Oh, wait. After you hear what I have to say, you can do as you please about returning. Go on. Dr. Adams said it would likely be a month before your wife was well enough to travel. It'll take me quite a while to make arrangements. Lawrence, you think you made a mistake by coming to this camp. Do you realize that there's a $5,000 reward offered for Nate Claussen? I know. You and your wife are the only persons who can identify Claussen, the man who killed the stage driver? What? What do you mean? Claussen made the mistake, John. He doesn't like witnesses around at his killings. He'll try to correct that mistake. Then that's all the more reason for me to get Amy and get out of this country. Quickly. I can't risk another... No one ever found the rainbow trail by turning back, John. Rainbow trail. Amy's father was right. I was a fool to bring her out here in the first place. Your name is John Chapman. And you came from Indiana to the frontier. Well? There was another John Chapman some years ago. I wonder if you know about him. Who do you mean? He was a frontiersman, too. A man of great faith in the future. But his frontier extended only as far as Pennsylvania and Ohio. Not many knew him by the name of Chapman. But he would always be remembered as Johnny Appleseed. Johnny App... Well, he was my grandfather. He spent most of his life in the wilderness. A life of struggle and hardships. I know. There were many times when he could have turned back. He had the faith and courage to keep going. Just... Just what are you getting at? Clausen and his men didn't get the mail. But they did rob you of every cent you had. You're a thousand miles from home. Flat broke. Your wife is hurt. So? So you can take your choice between quitting and calling on your wife's father for help or... Or what? Letting me help you get your money back. And putting Nate Clausen where he belongs. Me help you? Well, that's ridiculous. I'm not a gunslinger. I couldn't even... The part I have in mind for you calls for more courage than a gunslinger needs. But I... Of course, if you're not interested in punishing the man who shot your wife, then I... Wait a minute. I didn't say that. What do you want me to do? Eh, that's better. You're going back to Deer Creek. And I want you to spread the word around town that you have positive information which will lead to the capture of Nate Clausen. The news that the notorious outlaw gang headed by Nate Clausen was operating in the vicinity of Deer Creek brought many excited groups of townspeople together. And that evening, young John Chapman returned to the village. Following the Lone Ranger's instructions, he went first to the sheriff's office. Now, let me get this straight, Chapman. You say this outlaw told you how to grab off Nate Clausen? That's right, Sheriff. Sounds plenty doggone fishy to me, young fella. If I thought you was trying to pull some shenanigans... But why? Certainly you've got everything to gain and nothing to lose. Why, the best man hunters in the whole territory has been after that curly wolf for more than a year. And now you come along. A green tenderfoot... Why, you ain't even packing a gun. Never mind that. Will you take a chance and play along with me? All you want is for me to get a posse together and wait till I hear from you, huh? Right. Well, maybe I will. Maybe I won't. Now, you run along. Let me think it over. Well, if you ask me, that Chapman, hombre, is either plenty brave or plenty loco. Yeah. If one of Clausen's gang come to me and try to make a deal for a split on that reward money... You take it. Maybe I would. But I wouldn't be standing around here bragging about it. Look at the fool. Ain't he got sense enough to realize some of Clausen's men might be in here right this minute? I guess maybe you fellas don't believe me, huh? Well, the sheriff didn't take much stock in what I said either. Sheriff's gonna see that you get the reward money, hmm? That's right. Just as soon as he gets his hands on Nate Clausen. Well, this owl hoot figure's a double-cross Clausen. How come he don't do it alone, collect all the reward, instead of splitting it with you? Hmm. What good would it do him in prison? Oh, he'd rather take half and stay free. Oh, oh. This, uh, fella figure to lead the sheriff to Clausen's hideout? Or, uh, did he tell you where it was, hmm? Now, look, partner. This fella's got it in for Clausen, see? And he says to me, you just do what I tell you, and we'll take care of Mr. Nate Clausen pronto. He didn't tell me to go around advertising all his plans. That night, in the outlaw's hideout. Now, sit down and give me this straight. You got it straight, chief. Someone in this outfit's selling you out for that reward money. There you are, Loco. The man don't live that dares to double-cross Nate Clausen. Maybe you're right, but you're wrong. Well, it's your own funeral, I reckon. How come you didn't put a slug in that chap, my gent, and let her go at that? I thought of that, and I figured maybe there was a better way. Huh? I figured maybe you'd like to know just who it was that was trying to turn you into the law. What are you getting at? This chapman. He's staying at the hotel. Found out what room he's in. Now, if we could get him away from there alive, maybe he could be persuaded or tell us what we want to know, hmm? All right. Take one of the boys and go get him. Bring him out here. Wait a minute. Which one of the gang could I take without letting the rest know what's up? Whoever's trying to double-cross you, it'll light out pronto. I'll go with you myself. Come on, Slim. The horse is out of sight here in the alley. Don't you want me to go in with you? To handle that tenderfoot? Don't be funny. You wait here and keep your eyes peeled. If you see anybody... See anybody? Now you're being funny. Who could see anything around here is black. Look here, Clausen. You can't get away with this. Shut your trap and keep moving. We got an extra horse for you. You're riding with us, see? You're making a big mistake, mister. Maybe. And maybe you'll find out it don't pay to... Slim. Where are you? Slim. Give me a hand here. Slim can't help you at all, Clausen. What the... Drop that gun. Ow! Ow! I got a trap. But how did you... Here comes Chapman in hurry. Got a couple of prisoners to deliver to the sheriff. That husband of yours sure is the nerviest, cousin, Miss Chapman. Ain't nobody in town can figure out how a greenhorn like him ever managed to corral a couple of curly wolves like Nate Clausen and Slim Laney. But are you sure John is all right? All right? That lady, he's perfect. Brought them both in with their own guns. And come in. John! Hello, Amy. Hi, Dr. Adams. Young fella, you better get over here and show this young lady you're all right. She's been scared stiff since you heard what happened. I'm all right. What about my wife, doctor? Well, she'll be ready to travel a lot sooner than I figured. With all that reward money, I guess you can go a long ways. John, how in the world did you manage to capture those outlaws? I didn't, Amy. I just brought them in. After... After a friend of ours captured them. But... They said you had made a deal with one of Clausen's men. That was a trap for Clausen. After the sheriff had him in jail, Clausen was certain he'd been double-crossed by one of his gang. So he, in turn, double-crossed the whole bunch of them. The sheriff is after them now with a posse. But... But who was it that helped you capture the leader of the gang? Just... Just a mighty good friend, Amy. Maybe someday... We'll meet him again. Somewhere along the Rainbow Trail. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.
