a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty how silver, the Lone Ranger. 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 man who knocked on the door of Speed Lawton's house wore a five-pointed sheriff's badge on his vest, and in his pocket, Sheriff Bert Gray carried another badge, a deputy's badge, which he was determined to pin on the most famous gunslinger in the territory, Speed Lawton. Howdy, Sheriff. I come over to talk with you some more about that job, Speed. Come on in. How long is it going to take you to understand I don't want that job? Ain't I made myself clear? Now, look, Speed. Maybe it's a question of money, huh? Let's say I hike the ante a little bit. I got two deputies as it is, and they draw down a hundred a month. Now, you, well, I'd be willing to go as high as, say, two-fifty a month. Two-fifty? Two-fifty is a lot of money for a badge toter. That's right. In fact, when men are working on all kinds of different jobs for ten dollars a week or less, two-hundred and fifty dollars a month is almost too much money for an honest job. Well, I don't think it's too much money, Speed. Not for a man of your ability. Uh, just what would I, uh, have to do to earn two-fifty a month on your payroll? Uh, you'd have to do only what you're told to do. That's, uh, easy enough to understand, ain't it? I guess you heard about my kid coming back to Bad Crossing, huh? Sure, sure, Speed. He's been away to law school, learning how to use his head as well as his hands. Uh-huh. I always said Jimmy was a smart youngster. Well, maybe we can use a good lawyer around here. You never know. Maybe. Yeah, maybe. Of course, the kid's got the same kind of, uh, ability you have, Speed. He's plenty wicked with a six-shooter. He won't even touch a gun no more. Says he's coming back here to teach men how to settle their differences by using their heads instead of killing each other. Well, he sure picked a good place to start. Yeah. Bad Crossing. If ever a place deserved a name, this town sure deserves the name of Bad Crossing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, now, what about this job? I, uh, heard you was trying to borrow some money over to the bank. Well, it's gonna take money to get the kid set up in his law business. He'll be needing a lot of books and things, I reckon. Uh-huh. You can buy a pile of books on $2.50 a month. Hmm? Well, how about it? The answer's the same it's always been, Gray. I don't want the job. Don't want any part of it. It'd be a nice thing, Speed, to have your guns on the side of the law. These guns have always been on the side of the law and you know it. You don't think much of a deputy's badge, eh? Listen, Gray, there's no need of us beating around the bush. I got more respect for a lawman's badge than you or any of those weasel-faced crooks you got working for him. You know it. What? You try... I think enough of law and order that I spent every cent I had in the world to send my boy through law school. I know, but then... I've worn more badges than you ever saw. Deputy's badge, Sheriff's badge. Yes, I even wore a United States Marshal's badge. Well, what's wrong with wearing this one? You have to be told. All right, I'll tell you. It's you that's wrong. Oh? You ain't backing up the law, Gray. You're too smart for that. You hide behind that Sheriff's badge and use the law to back you up. Now, just a minute. Bad crossing. The rottenest, dirtiest, crookedest town on the frontier. They're overrun with scum. Now, you hold on. And what does the law do about it? Nothing. The law laughs out loud and hires a couple of gun-crazy killers for deputies. Speed. So you think these guns ought to be on the side of law and order, huh? Well, they're gonna be, Mr. Badgeman. My kid's coming home. And between the two of us, we're gonna give this killer's nest the biggest whitewashing you ever saw in your life. So that's what you got in mind, huh? You bet that's what I got in mind. And that's what Jimmy's got in mind. And you ain't got thugs enough on your payroll to stop us. That remains to be seen, my friend. And when we get through, we'll take that badge you're wearing and scrub it with lye water to take the stench away. Maybe find a man to wear it. Well, see you later, Speed. Get out. Get out of my house and stay out. The overland stage from Sweetwater was a dozen miles from Bad Crossing. Inside the big Concord coach, three men were talking. But most of this frontier is still on the boom. But there'll be a day when these wild towns will have to either grow up and come of age or they'll just fade out of existence. More ghost towns, huh? Say your home's in Bad Crossing? What kind of a place is it? Well, it's, uh... It's pretty rough. How do you mean, rough? Oh, it's always been wild and lawless. I thought all these tough towns along the frontier had two-gun sheriffs to keep things in line. Well, you got a two-gun sheriff and Bad Crossing. The trouble is, he's the biggest crook of the bunch. Why don't you get rid of him? That's what I went away to law school for. Now I'm going back. Between my dad and me, I think we can clean up the place of decent folks who want to live there. Pretty good town otherwise? It's one of the nicest towns in the southwest. It's right in the heart of the cattle country. There's quite a bit of gold and copper mining. And then when the railroad comes through, the town will be plenty important. Is your father in business here? He's... He's retired. That so? What business was he in? He was a... a gunslinger. A gunman? Gun is not as bad as it sounds, gentlemen. You see, my dad always worked on the side of the law. He was one of the... What's going on back there? You, I'm out of the booth. Pull down those guns, both of you. Let me see him drop on the road. You're showing sense. All right. You three, step out here with your hands up in the air. Well, look who's here. A mask man. Just what's the meaning of this outrage? Now get out and keep your hands up. What? You mean you say you're going to let this robber get away with us? Get out, you fool. Don't give him any reason to shoot you. That's telling him, Jimmy. That's sure telling him. He called you Jimmy. Do you know this man? Of course I don't know him. I never saw him in my life. All right, gents. Step down. Well, there's something mighty fishy here. If you don't know this masked owl hooter, then how come he called you by your first name? Now listen, I tell you... Oh, don't tell him nothing, kid. Let him guess. Let him figure it out for themselves. You can laugh now, Lawton, but you needn't think you're going to get away with us. You keep your mouth shut, fella, if you know what's good for you. Lawton, the driver called him. No wonder he recognized you. Sure, this kid was just bragging about his father was a gunslinger. I tell you, this is ridiculous. Don't you think I'd recognize my own father even if he was wearing a mask? Yeah, sure. Sure you'd recognize him if you wanted to. All right, let's get down to business. Now you up there, throw down that strong box. You gents, let's see a couple of nice fat wallets. Oh, not you, Jimmy. Not you, boy. It was the day following the holdup near Bad Crossing. At a secluded camp by the river a few miles away from the town, the lone ranger watched the approach of his friend Tonto coming at a gallop in the direction of Bad Crossing. Oh, scab, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. Ta-ee, Kimo, Sabe. Ta-ee. Did you see Mr. Lawton, Tonto? Tonto bring bad news. Lawton, fella, in jail for robbery. Speed, Lawton. What happened? Well, stagecoats get robbed yesterday. Drivers say him no-mask man as Lawton. Passengers say robber take money from them but not take money from young Lawton, fella, Jimmy. So Jimmy has returned from school then. Ah, and him plenty mad too because Sheriff put father in jail. I wonder. Huh? I wonder if Jimmy really is plenty mad. I wonder if he's mad enough to do something about it. Well, young fellow study law. Now him say and prove father have nothing to do with robbery. Perhaps he can. But he's going to learn that it takes more than knowledge to fight against men like Sheriff Burt Gray. Come on, Tonto. We go to Bad Crossing? Right. Here, Silver. Here, boy. Jimmy Lawton paced the floor of the small shack on the outskirts of Bad Crossing as he listened to the words of the man who'd been his father's lifelong friend. You've got to realize that there are times when you can't fight crime with reason alone, Jimmy. Why, you talk just like my father. You and here are both gunslingers. All you know is force. The man who held up the stage you were on yesterday. He used force or reason? But he was an outlaw posing as my father so the Sheriff Gray could have an excuse to put Dad in jail. I was able to reason that much, Jimmy. Now I'm wondering why your father ever let Gray take him prisoner when he knew the whole thing was a frame-up. Because I told him to go along with Gray. I told him I could prove his innocence and that I'd well, that I'd get him out. I hope you haven't made a mistake. No, I know what I'm doing. This town has a reputation of being the worst place on the frontier. It's overrun with crooks and killers of every description. And I say you can't clean up the town with force alone. You think the job can be done with reason alone? Why, yes. I say that intelligence is stronger than brute strength. Last time I saw you, Jimmy, you were wearing two guns. You knew how to use them, too. Certainly I knew how to use them. You know what my father used to say? What? He said it was my heritage because his father was a famous gunman. That's true. Certainly it's true. But I don't care for that kind of a heritage. Someday I may have a son. And I want to leave him a heritage of something fine and worthwhile. Something more than the ability to throw lead. Yes, I know how you feel. I know how your dad feels, too, Jimmy. Well, he used every son he had to put me through law school. And now I'm back, ready to prove that he didn't make a mistake. You're the one who's making a mistake. You think you can bring the law to a place like Bad Crossing without something to back it up? Well, there'll be plenty of backing up when we get started. And you'll find there are lots of decent people willing to back me up. And I won't have to carry a six-gun to prove it. Come on, Toto. Now, listen. Please don't think I'm ungrateful to you. It's just that, well, you just don't understand. And father doesn't understand either. But, well, he's willing to give me a chance. That's because he's your father and because he loves you very much. Yes, I know he does. As for me, I'll admit that I don't understand you, Jimmy. I do wish you luck. Adios. I'm going down to the jail. I'll tell dad that you were here. Let's go, Toto. At the Bad Crossing jail, Sheriff Burt Gray spoke to his deputy, Frank Adams. All right. Bring him out, Frank. Leaving his six guns right on the desk, hmm? Sure. Leaving them right in plain sight where he can grab me in a hurry when I give him the bad news. Of course, it's too bad there won't be any cartridges in either one of them. Yeah. Too bad for Mr. Speed Lawton. A 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. To continue our story, Frank Adams, the deputy sheriff, walked back to the cell where Speed Lawton was prisoner. As the heavy key was fitted into the lock of the door, the prisoner stared with cold contempt at the man before him. All right, Lawton. You can come out and get the bad news now. Bad news, huh? What kind of bad news you're talking about? I reckon the sheriff will enjoy giving it to you himself, Speed. I'll make it short and sweet, Lawton. You're going to prison. What? Why, there ain't even been a trial. I talked to the judge at the county seat. You're going away, Speed. For ten years. Why, of all the... Don't make a move. Either one of you. It was careless I meant to leave your guns laying right there on the desk, wasn't it? If you think I'm going to let myself out of the way, I wasn't careless enough to leave any bullets in those guns. Frank, we got a prisoner here trying to escape. Yeah. Seems that way, Sheriff. Ah, you dirty coyote. You better see if you can stop him, Sheriff. Sure. Sure, I'll try, Frank. Speed, Lawton, the famous fighter whose guns had blazed a trail for law and order along the western frontier, was dead. In his hand was clutched the empty six guns with which Bert Gray had tempted him to make a break for freedom. The man wearing the sheriff's badge spoke briefly to his deputy. Take care of those guns, Frank. Put the cartridges back in them. Then get the coroner down here right away. Sure. It's too bad Lawton wouldn't listen to reason. It's too bad we couldn't get him on the payroll. Well, I tried hard enough. Yeah. And it's too bad he tried to escape. Hey, here comes the kid, Jimmy. What? Come on in, Jimmy. Got bad news for you. What do you mean? Dad. But, Dad. Oh, you rotten, murdering devil. You killed him. It was him or us, kid. He grabbed his guns off my desk and was trying to escape. Let me see those guns. Oh, no, you don't. Don't I, don't? I'll show you. Let me look at those. Give that back here. Oh, I get it now. You gave him some reason to grab for his guns, but you made sure they weren't loaded. You tricked him into trying to escape. All that law training you got made you pretty smart, eh, fella? No. For a while, I thought I was smart. Now I'm beginning to realize certain things. Things I never wanted to believe before. Yeah? You're gonna pay for this, mister. Grab him, Frank. All right. Let's go. Your old man was gonna make trouble for me, and I stopped him. Reckon I can stop you, too. Hold him, Frank. That fixed him. Come on. Give me a hand to drag him back in that cell. He's short. It was nearly midnight. At the VAD Crossing jail, young Jimmy Lawton paced back and forth in his cell, his mind filled with conflicting, unreasoning thoughts. And in the outer office, the sheriff's deputy, Frank Adams, dozed in a chair that was tipped back against the wall. Suddenly, the deputy came wide awake as the door of the office was kicked open violently. Hey, what the... Mask. If I have to shoot, it might wake up the town. You'll never know it, mister. Who are you, and what do you want? When I'm in the mood to answer your questions, I'll let you know. Stand up. What are you gonna do? Get up on your feet, killer. Now see here. You must be Frank Adams, right? And I'm a deputy sheriff, so if you don't want to get into big trouble... You're the one who's in trouble, Adams. Go on, move. Move where? Back to the rear. Toward this cell, you've got Jimmy Lawton in. I think maybe Jimmy will enjoy seeing what happens to you. What do you mean? Perhaps it would be better if I just let him out of that cell and gave him a gun. I could give him his father's guns. In the mask, man... Hurry, get me out of here. How did you get in there, Jimmy? Well, Sheriff Gray and this buzzard, Frank Adams, they slugged me when I accused them of murdering my father. They said he was trying to escape. I heard about that. Let me get one thing straight. The sheriff and his deputy used force to put you where you are. Right? Of course. Didn't I just say they slugged me? We were talking only this morning about force and reason. Remember? Of course I remember. I'm wondering if you've thought of a way to reason with Sheriff Gray and his deputy here. Now listen, I'll tell you... Keep your mouth shut, Adams. It's obvious that you don't deserve to be in jail, Jimmy. I think it's obvious that this man and his boss did murder your father. Speed Lawton made a break and tried to escape. He grabbed his guns off the sheriff's desk and started shooting at him. You're a liar. If Speed Lawton ever fired a shot at you, you wouldn't be here to tell about it. I came in right after it happened. My father was lying on the floor and this man was stuffing some cartridges into Dad's guns. So that's how you did it, huh? Got him out here and tempted him to grab for a pair of empty guns. No, no, that ain't true. Sounds true enough to me. Turn around, deputy. I'll take those guns you're wearing. We'll remove the cartridges and place the empty guns on the table here. Give you the same break you gave Jimmy Lawton's father. What do you mean? Give me that key. Now you can put your hands down. Whenever you're ready, you can grab those empty guns and make a break for the door. No. No, I won't. Of course, you probably won't make it. But you'll have the same chance Lawton had. Well, I won't do it. That's cold-blooded murder. I agree with you. If you're unwilling to take the chance, there's one other way. Recognize these guns, Jimmy? I've had my eyes on those guns all afternoon. I took them from my father and hung them up there when they threw me in this cell. I've offered Adams here a chance to escape. No. You'd have the same chance my father had. Never mind. He doesn't want it. So that's why I'm loading these guns for you, Jimmy. Listen, mister, please. Don't give that kid those guns. He'll kill me, I tell you. I'm not sure you'll take them. If he does, you can still grab for yours to defend yourself. But mine are empty. How in the name of heaven... Jimmy, do you want these guns? I want them. I want them more than I've ever wanted anything in all my life. All right. You're it, boy. No, no, no. No, please. Don't let him kill me. I'll do anything, but don't let him. Give me those. Please. I won't promise you anything, Adams. But if you want to talk, it won't hurt your case. Well, I said I'd talk and I will. All right, Jimmy. You can put your legal training to work now. Sit at that table and write out a full confession for this man to sign. Good work, mister. I'm beginning to understand what you meant when you said a little intelligence was something to back it up. I'm beginning to realize that you've got a lot of both. Well, the sheriff tried to get speed on his payroll. He offered him big money, too. But your father refused. All right. Now, what about the robbery? Well, I done that. Sheriff had it fixed for me to wear clothes that looked like your father's. He even had it arranged with a driver to call me Lawton. Who's the driver and where can we find him? His name's Farrell. Lives at the hotel. Go on. Anyone else in on that robbery? Yeah. There's me and the sheriff and the driver. That's all. All right. Now, which one have you killed my father? Well, Greg done that. He emptied Speed's guns and laid them on the desk. Then he had me bring them out. Go on. Well, the sheriff told your father he'd talked with the judge at the county seat. Said they were sending Speed to prison for ten years. Was that true? No, no. No, he told Speed that just so as he'd make a play for his guns. Yes, and what else? Well, your father said he wouldn't stand for being railroaded. and he grabbed for his guns. Well, that's when the sheriff let him have it. Uh-huh. Well, all right, Adams. You can sign your name to that. You know, I made a mistake this morning, Mass Man. When I said I didn't want any part of the heritage my father left me. I'm ready to wear these guns now. His guns. Now, listen, kid. You ain't gonna use that gun. I'm gonna kill you? No, not me, Adams. I'm a lawman first and foremost. I wouldn't even kill Burt Gray unless I had to. Now, you sign that. Sure. Sure. There's your confession, Jim. Take care of it. Right. Now, let's get this buzzard locked up and then we'll finish the job that my dad started. Tonto's waiting outside. We'll leave him here to guard your prisoner. Ah, what the Sam Hill you're waking me up for at this time of night? What? Oh, it's you, Jimmy. Now, get your clothes on a bit quick about it, Farrell. What? Say, who do you think you are? Frank Adams just signed a confession naming you as an accomplice in the Overland stage robbery yesterday. You're under arrest. Under arrest? Well, what business you got arresting me, I'd like to know. What do we got a sheriff for, huh? Adams' confession charged the sheriff for the murder of my father. And in case you're interested, a private citizen can arrest anybody for a felony. What the... Now, come on, hurry up. We're cleaning house tonight in Bad Crossing. Keeping late hours, aren't you, Sheriff? How'd you get out of jail? Before daylight, you'll be wondering how you got in jail, Sheriff. You can reach for your hat or your six-gun. And either way, you're gonna stand trial for the murder of Speed Lawton. Yeah, you're mighty brave. Two to one. One to one, Sheriff. I think Jimmy can take care of himself. The masked man won't interfere. You mean you're going up against me with those guns? These guns used to belong to Speed Lawton, Sheriff. Now they belong to me. You're a fool, kid. A fool. Just like your old man. From what you spoke the truth, Sheriff. You fool, you... Why, sure, I'm a fool. Same kind of a fool my father was, a lead-slinging fool. I'm mighty angst to give some of you bad men a taste of your own medicine. Now stop your blubbering. Get started for the jailhouse. You'll find plenty of company waiting for you. Hello, Silver. Hooray! The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger, Incorporated. I'll be right back later. I'm a free girl. I'm is a mother in a series. I love you a lightning from the optical unf giddy saddleman to get into lock the shirt on. I'll be right back now. You'll find a new battle knife hire, for you as a captain. Why? I was trying to get up to the 你看 out subft다고 and to get you by the lone Ranger, all aboard! You're just a jackson outside Size
