Hail Silver! The speed of light, the cloud of dust, and the hearty. Hail Silver! The Lone Ranger! His faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful mask rider of the plains, led the fight for law and order in the early western United States. 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 come a thundering hoop beats of the great horse Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again! Born Silver! Hurry, McFell! Two horses raced across the plains at breakneck speed. Dan Reed led the way, with Tonto following close behind. The Lone Ranger's nephew reigned up at a small clump of trees that grew near a water bowl not far from town. Oh, oh, Victor! Whoa, whoa, whoa! It's right in here, Tonto! Dan, if you write... Oh, Tonto, I'm sure I'm right, but I'm praying that I'm wrong. If Lone Ranger did... Come right over here and look at the signs on the ground. There's been an awful fight. There, you see? Ah, on the sea. Look how the ground's torn up, Ant, and look at the other signs. Ah, it looked like someone died here. Look over here. You can see where someone was dragged along the ground. See the marks of the spurs? That's right, Dan. Aren't those rows just about like the Lone Rangers? Ah, you find any other signs? Yes, on a tree right over here. The Lone Ranger would have come this way to meet us in camp, wouldn't he? Ah. Then he was waylaid here. Look on the trunk of that tree. A horse passed so close that some of the hairs were rubbed off by the bark. And the white horse hairs. Oh, Talo, what if the Lone Ranger's dead? Ah. Dan, look over there. Oh, golly. Oh, thank goodness. Here come Lone Ranger. He's alive. Isn't that right? But, but, Talo, someone must have been killed here. Oh, silver horse, close. Look out where you step. Keep back. Easy, big fella. Oh, what's the matter? There's been a fight here. It looked like plenty bad fight. Looks like a murder. Those tracks were made by spurs on a man's heels. Someone was dragged away from here. Ah. That's just what Talo thought. Someone come here on white horse. Their horse hair on trunk of tree. We thought you'd been here. Baker City is near here. There are three men in Baker City who own white horses. There are? Yes. A rancher, a banker, and a gambler. With Talo's help, the Lone Ranger disguised himself as a Mexican and rode into Baker City to do some investigating. As he rode up to the livery stable, an old man eyed him suspiciously from the doorway. Oh, oh, hold up, oh. Howdy, stranger. Buenos tardes, senor. Oh. Right smart-looking horse, you're riding. Right fancy saddle, too. Reckon there's getting to be an epidemic of that kind of trappings around here. Oh. I pride myself, senor, on the uniqueness of my riding gear. Huh? Yeah, sure. Now, as I was saying, we keep three white horses right here in this stable. And each of them's got up in fancy saddles and all. So, you see, I was wondering... Well, of course, senor. These white horses with the unusual saddles belong to the same person? Nope. There's one of them belongs to Mort Prentice, one to Clem Sawyer, and the other to Ace Phillips. I doubt these gentlemen keep these horses for their ride on what you call the special occasions, no? Well, now, I wouldn't go as far as to say that, stranger. The fact is, it was all out riding them horses today. Not together, of course. They went out at different times. But there ain't anything special about today now, is there? Maybe there's some cause for celebrating I ain't hear it about. Perhaps. No, senor. You fixing to leave your horse here at the livery, mister? Later, perhaps. Not right now. Adios, senor. Come on, J. Happen. The people in Baker City had for some time been amused at the efforts of the rancher, the banker, and the gambler to outdo one another. The trio were at the bar when the Lone Ranger, disguised as the Mexican gentleman, strolled into the cafe. He found the bartender quite willing to talk about the three men. Well, you gotta talk low, huh? Wouldn't want them to hear me. They might feel insulted. I hear that they like to have people talk about them, senor. Well, maybe so, but they'd feel insulted that you hadn't heard about them. See, each one of them three is trying to outdo the other two. Each one is a rancher, huh? Well, that's Mort Prentice. He's the big gent with the mustache. Oh, I see. A little pint-sized galoot with a stick-out ears owns the bank. His name's Clement Sawyer. The other hombre looks like one who gambles for a living, huh? His looks ain't one bit deceiving. Ace Phillips has made a pile of money at cards and blowed it all trying to make more of a show than Prentice for Sawyer. He's possible. Yeah. You take the horse he bought, for example. In fact, you can also take the horse a banker Sawyer bought. Neither of them two has any use for a big riding horse, but they both bought white thoroughbreds when Mort Prentice got to bragging about the one he bought. Oh, he's strange, huh? Them three sure are jealous of each other. And after they got the horses, they started trying to outdo each other with fancy saddles. It's got to the point where all three of them have so much silver studding and trimming that you can't see the saddle leather. Uh, excuse me, mister. More signaling for me. I gotta go wait on him. Oh, poor Lala. Bring out another bottle of my special brand, Boyle. Yes, sir. Right away, Mr. Prentice. By the way, Boyle, did you tell anyone that Mr. York had come to Baker City? Me? Well, I know, sir. I don't even know who he is. I didn't know anyone would come here. Mr. York is a jeweler in Frisco. He and his bodyguard came here yesterday with a diamond I intend to buy. Yeah? Well, I didn't know about him. They took a room upstairs. In some way, these two smart-alecks found out that York was here. Well, don't hold it against Baldy. He didn't tell me about your deal. Or me. I didn't even know about it. If I knew who tipped you off, I'd break his neck. You shouldn't try to put one over on us more. Try to buy a diamond on the sly, huh? I thought you'd flash it around town, make Ace and me look like tin horse. I'll flash it around, all right. Mort, you've got to buy it first. Yes, siree. And before you can buy that big stone, you've got to bid against me. And me. Well, I'm just the man to do it. Well, there's his guard. I'll call him over. Hey, you! You calling me, Mr. Prentice? Yeah. Shake hands with Ace, Phillips, and Clem, sorry. Hiya. This is Dick Leonard. He's here with Yorick. How do you do? How do you do? I'm sorry. These two greedy grabbing mavericks have learned that your boss is in town with a diamond. They aimed out bidding me to get it. That'll make things just dandy for Mr. Yorick. Uh, is Yorick in his room now? Yep. Well, we'll all go up. Funny Yorick don't answer the door. Let me rap. Maybe he won't answer till he knows I'm on hand. Don't answer that. Maybe he's sleeping. Oh, he never sleeps during the day. Maybe you better try the door. Well, anyhow, the door's unlocked. Can't be far away. Hey, look at that! Will, I'll be... Come here! Well, he's been shot. Mr. Yorick. He's dead. Drilled clean center. But who are they? Where's the diamond? He kept it in a little shammy bag in a special pocket. See if it's there. I'll soon find out. Probably stolen. What else would he be shot for? Well, we'd better get the sheriff. I saw him in the cafe. I'll go get him. The diamond's gone. You sure? See for yourself. Here's the empty bag. Wait, just a minute. What's that under Yorick's hand? What'd you find, Ace? A piece of paper under his hand. It had writing on it. What'd you say? It's a bodyguard. Put up your hands. Hey, put down the gun. Preach. But I didn't have anything. Clem, take his gun. Now hold on, Ace. Why'd you draw on Dick Leonard? Get the gun. Well, all right. There. You think that I killed him? You shut up. Here, Clem, look at this note. It was written before Yorick died. Hmm. Writing's sort of scraggling. What's it say? I was shot by my own bodyguard. What? That's you, Dick. It's a lie. Here's the sheriff. What's this about a murder? Come in, Sheriff. We've got your man. It's a frame-up. I didn't do it. So Yorick has been shot, huh? Well, he lived long enough to name the killer. Ace found a note. A note? Here. I found this. I drew on the bodyguard. Here. Sheriff. Let me see his shooting arm. Here it is. Thanks, Clem. Here you can see, Sheriff. The gun hasn't been fired. There aren't any cartridges fired. Barrel looks clean. Don't smell the burnt powder. Well, doesn't that prove I did? That don't prove a thing. The first thing a smart killer does is clean his gun and replace the fired shells. We'll take the gun as evidence along with the note. Sheriff. Will you let me have a look at that note? Sure. Keep your hands right where they are. Look as much as you please. That's not Yorick's handwriting. No? No, it isn't. The jury will discuss that angle of it, Leonard. You do best to tell the truth, Dick. Maybe the judge will be more lenient if the diamond is returned. I didn't kill Yorick. And I didn't touch that diamond. Well, you better come along, Dick. Reckon there's nothing to do but jail you. Just a minute. What's that? Where'd he come from? Fast. Will I be... Stick your hands up, mister. You're putting... You're all covered. I got a gun on you. Better drop it, Ace. I won't. Drop it. Better. Now we can talk. Who intended... Sheriff, I'm interested in seeing this murder solved. Well, then... You won't solve it by arresting that man. Yorick left a note. Anyone can write a note. But it's signed. You could have signed it, Ace. Me. Or anyone else. Banker or Mort Prentiss. No. Look at me. Or even the sheriff. If Yorick had written a note in this room, you'd have been shot in this room, wouldn't he? Who says he wasn't shot here? Now you get out of here and mind your own affairs. He was not shot in this room. What? Yorick is bruised badly. Put up a hard fight. But this room's in perfect order. Now hold on, mister. I don't know who you are, but it seems you're aiming to find a murderer. Yorick was shot through the heart, wasn't he? Drilled clean. He must have died instantly. He could hardly write a note. He couldn't have. Don't you see, Sheriff? That lets me out. It shows the note is fake. It proves that the note doesn't mean anything. Without the note, there's nothing to accuse me. You know Jason Yorick's handwriting? As well as I know my own. And that note wasn't written by him. That's what I thought. I... Well, you thought what, stranger? Perhaps, uh... Yes, perhaps I better keep my ideas to myself. You don't see here. If you're going to bust in this case, you've got to let me know what you... I have nothing to say right now, Sheriff. Suppose you go right ahead as you'd planned. Don't let me down. Wait, stranger. Don't leave. We'll meet again, Dick. Don't go. You're the only friend I have. You're the only one that believes in me. Keep your chin up. Now you hold on. I want to talk to you. Don't try to follow me. Pato, get the key out of the door. Sheriff, don't let him get away. Grab him! I have you covered. Now hold on there. Come on, Pato. Out the back way. I've got to pick up those Mexican clothes. Why you not tell law what you find? I nearly did, Kimo Sabe. Then I thought of a better plan. Huh? We need certain information. When we have it, we'll trap the killer. 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. A note signed by the dead jeweler accused Dick Leonard, his bodyguard, of murder. Dick was arrested for lack of any other suspect. The sheriff was accompanied by Mort Prentiss, Clem Sawyer, and Ace Phillips when he took Dick to jail and locked him in a cell. There. Reckon that'll hold you. Sheriff, you're making a mistake. What evidence there is points to you. You heard what the masked man said. Yorick wasn't killed in that room. We'll see. He told you, Jason, Yorick couldn't have written a note after being shot through the heart. I'll hold you till I get more evidence. Sheriff, I can prove that note wasn't Yorick's handwriting. How? By sending to Frisco for other things he wrote. And you could compare him. Frisco. Frisco's a mighty long ways off. But you have to... And I reckon the judge will want to hold court long before you could get an answer. Oh, hang it all. If I could just talk to that masked man again. Yeah. I'd like to talk to him myself. Sheriff, maybe Dick and the masked man worked the murder together. They might have. It wouldn't surprise me if that was the case. Very gully. Huh? Maybe that explains it. Explains what, Mark? Where the diamond went. Maybe Dick killed Yorick, stole the diamond, and slipped at the mask, hombre. Well, that's reasonable. Sheriff, you've got to find that fella. Yes, I'll get a party together. I'll help you, Sheriff. Then so will I. I can go, too. You're all wrong. I'll bet the masked man didn't have any more to do with the killing than I did. But that was a plenty. Let's get started, Sheriff. If we don't wait too long, maybe we can pick up his trail. I will try. What's that? Outside. Boy, look. Look out there. The masked man. There he goes. Come on, we'll get men and horses. We'll get that masked man. The sheriff directed a futile search for the masked man. It was a search that lasted for three days without finding a single clue to the Lone Ranger's hiding place. During those three days, Tonto and Dan made careful inquiries and gathered information which they reported. Any one of the three men might have killed Jason Yorick. Isn't that right, Tonto? That's right. If Yorick was shot near that grove of trees. Someone shot there. The sheriff is convinced that Yorick wasn't Jaden's room. All of those men are Illinois horses. Ah. Mort Prentiss, Clem Sawyer, and Ace. Is there anyone else? No. At all. And all three wanted to buy the diamond. Not one of them could have paid for it. Are you sure of that, Dan? Yes. Uh-huh. I did hear that Mort Prentiss was nearly broke. Ah. Him have big loss in cattle. There's talk about the bank being shaky. Plenty fellas say bank need cash. Hard to tell about the gambler's financial condition. Uh, Kimo Sabe. Yeah? What do you think about bodyguard? I doubt that Dick killed Jason. See, the murderer wrote that note accusing Dick. He certainly wouldn't have accused himself. Now what are we going to do? Now we're going to act. Good. Here, Silver. Get your horses. Right. Here, Scalp. It'll be dark by the time you reach town. Ah. So saddle up. Here's what we're going to do. Yeah. That evening, the gambler went as usual to the cafe where he joined a game of poker already in session. His luck, however, was none too good. Finally, he pushed back his chair impatiently and threw his cards on the table. I haven't had such bad cards in years. Hey, Ace. What is it, Baldy? The fella just handed this note over the bar. Said it was for you. Ah, let me have it. Yeah. It's all sealed up. Who was he? Just a kid. He said someone gave him the note and told him to bring it here. Well, I'll be... What's wrong? What's it say, Ace? None of your business. You needn't get sore. Bad news, Ace? What are you looking so white about? Who's it from? It's not signed. And I just said it's nobody's business. What's in it? You're leaving? Yes. I'm leaving. In the meantime, Clement Sawyer was alone in his home when the door opened suddenly. What the... Hold it. Don't turn around. There's no cash here. This isn't a robbery. But I think... Careful. I said not to turn around. Boy, I've heard that voice before. I have a message for you. Uh, a message? Yes. I'll leave it on the table. Now, sit still until I'm gone. Now, wait. Wait a minute. You'll understand when you've read the note. But listen here. It's two of them, Silver, old fella. Easy now. Not a call on Mort Prentiss. Mort Prentiss, leaving the sheriff's office, didn't know that the masked man was waiting for him in the shadow of the building. Good night, Sheriff. Good night, Mort. Hey, what? Don't turn around. I'll call the sheriff. Read this note. I think you'll change your mind. What is this? You'll soon know. Wait. Come back here. We may meet again, Mort. You big fella. Hold, Silver. That's a blame for anything. Some words, Edfield, anyway. And within blazes in this paper. After Mort's departure, the sheriff made ready to leave his office for the night. But first, he visited the cell of Dick Leonard. It may be of interest to you to know that I took your suggestion, Dick. What's that? I wrote to San Francisco for samples of Jason Yorick's handwriting. You did? Yep. If that note wasn't his writing, you'll probably hang. Will there be time for an answer before I go on trial? I can't say about that. I hope so. Why, I reckon maybe I ought to apologize to you, Sheriff. I thought you were trying to railroad me without caring whether I was the real killer. Well, I got to thinking over what the masked man said. And you decided he was right? Well, I got a few ideas. Sheriff, look. You stand still. What? What do you want? You do what, Tom, to tell you. He's got you covered. Why, you open cell door. So? It's a jailbreak, huh? We'll have all the nerve. Open door. All right. All right. Go easy with that gun. You hurry. Just when I was beginning to think that maybe you wasn't guilty, your pal comes to break you out of jail. Sheriff, I never saw that Indian before. Open door. You'll pay for this, Injun. You too, Dick. You come. Now, wait a minute. What do you think? You come quick. Sheriff, come too. Injun, you'll hang with Dick Leonard for this. We take ride. Ride? Where? Me show you. All right. You've got the drop of me now. But I'm a tellin' you, Injun. I'll have you in jail or turn in my badge. In the meantime, his errand in town completed. The Lone Ranger raced toward the grove of trees where murder seemed to have taken place. There he dismounted and stood beside Silver. He waited as the minutes passed slowly. Then, his ears caught the faint sound of someone's cautious approach. He stood without making moves. Wait. Quiet, old boy. Hold it. Oh, so you came. Sure I came. You never figured I'd show up without you here and me, did you? Perhaps I didn't. Let me have a look at you. Well, bless my hide if it ain't the mass, fella. I'm right glad to meet up with you again, stranger. Yeah? First, I'm going to find out how you knew it was me that killed Jason York. Then you're getting the same as he did. Are you sure? I'm holding the high cards in this game, stranger. I reckon you ain't got no choice but to follow my lead. Go on. Speak up. How'd you get on to me? You read my note, didn't you? You said for me to meet you where the killing took place. If we could come to terms, maybe you wouldn't tell the sheriff what you knew. That's right. But that ain't answering my question. Did you see it happen? Maybe. Don't feel like talking, eh? Well, I reckon I'll have a look at what's behind that mask of yours. Then we'll get down to business. Careful. I stand still. Let me shoot nine of mine in his lap of the golf. Just a minute, Fretis. You ready to talk? Yes, I do have something to say. Don't be too sure you have the drop on me. No. Well, I'll take the chance when you withdraw. But what about my horse? Yeah? Add him, Silver. That's it. Get that horse away. He's trying to kill me. Take that gun. All right, Silver. Let's get it. Get it out. That horse is the devil. He knows how to handle murderers. Don't shoot me. Now we'll talk turns. What do you want? Would you give me half the value of the diamond you stole? Now, look here. Or hang. I'll split with you. I'll give you half. Just put them guns down. Where's the diamond? Wait till I sell it. I don't trust you. Where's the diamond? It's out at the ranch. How'd you trick Yorick into coming here with you so you could shoot him? If you don't know, I'm not telling. Did you invite him out to your ranch? Hey, listen. How'd you know I was the one? Maybe I saw you dragging the dead man into the back door of the hotel. Did you? We're hurting him. Sheriff. I want you, Mort. It's your double cross. You double cross yourself. That man discovered where the shooting really took place. He sent notes to you and Clam and Ace. It had to be one of the men who owned the white horse. Steady. I'll drill you on the spot. You see, Mort, all three notes said the same thing. They told the man who got them to meet me at the scene of the murder, or I'd tell what I knew. Only the murderer knew where to come. I should have shot you on sight. We were watching you. Yeah, and so was that Indian. If you'd have tried to shoot, you'd have stopped a lot of lead. Come on, Tonto. Dan's wedding. Wait, I owe you a lot of thanks. Oh, by the way, Mort, how do you like this white horse? White horse? I hope I never see another. What you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger, Incorporated.
