A fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty hi-ho silver, the Lone Ranger. To this faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked 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 the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse, Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again. Come on, Silver. Let's go, big fellow. I'm Silver. Hooray! The entire area had suffered immeasurably from a long, sustained drought. The grass was brown and the earth beneath it hard and cracked. Streams had dried up, and so had the waterholes that fed them. In the entire region there was one oasis, a large waterhole that seemed to have an unlimited supply of clean, cool water. Ma Loomis and her old top hand had brought their cattle to the hole to drink. Ma knew that she'd stepped over the line onto Newt Garson's property to water her cattle, but she felt that under the conditions, the trespass was justified. Bawdy, you keep your eyes peeled. Yes, I sure will. My sakes, look at them critters lap up the water. Going at it like... Them critters can drink without you watching them. You watch for Garson or his men. That hairpin of Ray's hobby, because of using water on his land. That ordinary sidewinder. It's a lucky thing the waterhole's surrounded by sizable rocks. We're sort of hid from view. Maybe we're hid from view, but we're also cut off from viewing the land around us. You better climb atop the rocks and stand watch. You can let me know if anyone comes this way. Well, if you say so. You heard me say so. Ask it at all. Yes, and I'll look at them. Garson. Come on, Ray. Stealing water, eh? And you of all people. Now, hold on, Garson. Ma Loomis, why you thieving old a hand. Now, see here, Garson. You shut up. Oh, sure, dear. Fred, you keep an eye on Bawdy. Yeah, boss. Sneaking around, eh, Garson? Sneaking like a lop-eared polecat. I wasn't sneaking. Hiding behind them rocks, just hoping you'd catch me. Ma Loomis, if I'd been back of the rocks when you come up here, you'd never have got your cattle close to the water. Now, clear out. Garson, listen to me. I said clear out. This is the only water around here. My cattle's dying off from the drought. If you can't keep the cattle, sell out. I'll buy your stock. You won't? Yeah. Five dollars a head. Five dollars? Why is that wrong? That's the right robbery. Thirty a head would be more like it. I'll get forty when the railroad's ready. The price is five dollars. Take it or leave it. Henri Golf in the manger. I'll move your stock back on your own side of the boundary. Or I'll give Red orders to start shooting. Garson, you've got to listen to reason. You heard what I said. But I... We've got to make a deal. Red, shoot one of them. Hey! Why, you... Look, Ma, they dropped one. Got them as clean as a whistle. Baldy, you'll finish that draw, and I'll give you what Red gave that short horn. You'll pay for that, Garson. Still arguing, huh? All right. Red, shoot another. Hold this thing, what? There he is, coming around the rock. Put that gun away. Mast. Bring the horses, Tuttle. What's this? Who are you? Oh, bother. Let's keep your gun in leather, mister. Both of you. Not up and ride. You're looking at me. Right. But this is my land. I'm Newt Garson. Yes, I know who you are. I'm not impressed. By golly, that masked man's all right. Shut up and keep your eyes open. If you think you can get a... That's going. All right. Now, you'll hear more about this. This is my land, and I will... There are times when certain rights have to be waived. This Garson is one of them. I'll get square. Come on, Red. You can't do this to us and get away with it, boss. Easy there. Get up. Get up there. Look at them, Ma. Look at them skunks clear out. Otto, follow them until you're sure they don't stop beyond the rocks and ambushes. Let me go. Get up, scum. I'm sure grateful to you, mister, that you made an enemy out of Newt Garson. I've made a number of enemies, Mrs. Loomis. Oh, what? You know my name? Yes. I've learned about quite a few of the ranches around this dried-up area. Look at here, mister. Yes? Just who are you? And why'd you throw in on my side against that critter? Otto and I came here to look for something, Mrs. Loomis. Yes? For what? If we find it, Newt Garson will wish he'd been a better neighbor. Newt Garson raged and growled all manner of threats during the ride from the spring to his ranch house. When he and his ranch hand reined up, they saw that company had arrived. Two saddled horses were tied to a rail, and a chubby, round-faced, well-dressed man sat on the porch next to a lean, tired-looking man in dungarees. Walsh, that's a banker. What's he doing here? He and I have some business. Who's the other man? Dave Walsh. He owns a spread beyond Ma Loomis' place. Take your horse over to the corral. Right, Walsh. Steady there, Walsh. Come on. Come on. Howdy, Mrs. Squires. Good afternoon, Garson. How are you, Walsh? I hear your cattle's in bad shape. Yeah. Garson, my time is valuable. You kept me waiting. Sorry, banker Squires. I was busy. Busy? What about me? Now, calm down. I sent word I had to see you on a deal that'd make a pile of cash for you. Well? The other day I asked you for a loan since I could buy up cattle. I told you the loan was out of the question. I could buy at $5 a head, Squires, and sell at $30 or $40. And the railroad gets the tracks over here. I'm aware of that. You still can't see making the loan, huh? No, and I told you why. Frankly, Garson... I know. I'm a newcomer around here. Not only that, but your past record shows... Shows that I'm a slippery customer, huh? Well? That's all right. You need to mince words with me, Squires. I don't blame you for thinking I might get all I could get and run out and leave you holding the bag. If you brought me here to discuss the loan... Now, wait. I got Dave Walsh here, too. I reckon you know Dave Walsh pretty well. Of course. Squires, you've loaned me cash a number of times. Always got paid back. That's right. Maybe you'd lend me some cash again. You and Garson are entirely different cases. That's what I thought. Well, that's why Garson asked me to meet you here, Squires. You, uh, mean you... He means that he wants to borrow cash from your bank. Hmm. He gave you the same chance I did to clean up some easy money. Garson, let Walsh tell me about it. That's simple enough. Garson's got the water hole on his land. I've got the credit at the bank. We're going into the deal together and splitting profits. Giving you the chance to make a slick margin of profit on a short-term note. If you can persuade the ranchers to sell the cattle at a low price. They'll have to sell the critters or watch them die a thirst. They'll sell. I don't know whether they will or not. Now, I know, for example, that Ma Loomis wouldn't sell at five dollars. She'll sell along with the others. Thought of by the rest of the ranchers around here. I know that, Walsh. My suggestion to go a long ways in persuading them to sell out to Garson. They'll think that I'm suffering the same loss they are. Oh. You're not going to let anyone know that you're in on the deal? Nope. And you better not say anything about it. A man in my business learns to keep his mouth shut, Garson. Good. Now, here's where things stand. I've already sounded out a few of the ranchers. Some are willing to sell to me and some aren't. Huh? I've been one of those that stood against it. So is Jim Baker. Well? Jim has suggested getting the men together to demand water rights here on Garson's property. That's illegal, isn't it, squires? Well, I don't know about that. If enough men got organized, it'd be very hard to oppose them. Well, anyhow, I'm meeting Jim tonight. Ma Loomis will be in on the meeting. Both Ma and Jim have a lot of influence with the others. If I can swing them over to selling to Garson's price, everyone else will fall in line. Let me know the outcome of the meeting. Then you go into the deal with us? Yes. If you can persuade the ranchers to sell to you and Garson, the cash will be available. But remember, my part's got to be kept secret. Tonto had followed Garson all the way to the ranch house and had been around the corner of the house in a position to hear the conversation on the porch. He moved away as silently as possible, then mounted his plate horse. Get him off the scum! He rode at top speed to join his masked friend, the Lone Ranger, and repeat what he had heard. That evening, found Dave Walsh, Jim Baker, and Baldy with Ma Loomis in the living room of her modest home. Walsh spoke for some time, and then Jim eyed him appraisingly for a few seconds before he spoke. Oh, Dave, you think it'd be bad business to ride roughshod and tell Garson we aim to use that waterhole? Yes, I do, Jim. The law says that we're... Thunder and lightning, Dave Walsh. How long since you quit fighting for your rights? Well, I'll tell you, Ma Loomis, it isn't... It'd be different if Garson needed all the water on his land, but he don't. There's enough for all his needs as well as all the rest of us. And just because it happens to be on his land, don't give him no-caught hog what he don't need at our expense. I think we should offer Garson a fair price for permission to water our cattle. Now, if he won't be reasonable, he'll have to take the consequences. I'm with you, Jim. All the way. That's it. Now, one minute. We do that, it'll mean fighting. People will be killed. It'll be murder, and then what... The mass man. You again? Hey, what the... Who is this? I'll draw. Sorry for the intrusion, Mrs. Loomis. What are you after, mister? Why are you... Now, hold on. Jim Baker. Come on, Baker. Like fun, I will. Yes, you will. Let go of me. Stay here, Walsh. This way, Jim. He knows all of us. Let go of me. Let me go, I tell you. You will not be hurt. I simply want to talk to you before you give a final decision on the Garson situation. Now, come on. Baldy. Dave's starting. Do something. You wait a minute. He'll be back with you in half an hour. Dave. Dave, Baldy. Help Jim. Get him back here. Come on, Dave. Get your gun off. I'm with you, Baldy. Get that door open. Right. I'll get it. No, you... You wait. What's that? You're an Indian. That's the same one. You stay inside. No, wait, Indian. Listen to me. Put that gun down, you redskin. You stay in room maybe half hour. Then, friend, come back. What in thunder's the idea? I thought you and the mask man were on our side. You see, by and by, what side mask man on? You wait in room. Me wait outside door. Wait half hour. Then, maybe you learn plenty. There was no chance to argue with Tonto and the heavy gun he held in readiness. Baldy, Dave Walsh, and Ma Loomis closed the door and sat down to wait. The minutes dragged slowly, marked by the heavy clock in one corner of the room. After the flurry of excitement had died down, Ma Loomis and Baldy told Dave about the appearance of the masked man earlier in the day when he had sided with them against Newt Garson. The three waited as patiently as possible while the half-hour period came to a conclusion. There he is. Jim! What happened, Baker? What did he do to you? Are you all right? Yeah, I'm all right. Why did he take you out of here? Ma Loomis, that masked man showed me where Dave Walsh was right and I was wrong. What? Yeah. I'm going to sell to Garson at five dollars a head or whatever he'll pay. Good for you, Jim. I knew you'd see things my way. Well, of all the masked man made you change your mind. Jim Baker, you can't do that. You can't say to your cattle. If you and Dave do it, everyone else will follow along. That's right, Ma Loomis. And you'd better do the same. Ruin, that's what we'll be. Ruin. And all because of that consign masked man. 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 few days following the meeting in Ma Loomis' home and the surprise visit of the Lone Ranger, a lot of cattle changed hands. Ranchers on all sides of the Garson property brought their livestock to the only place that had water and sold out at five dollars a head. Banker's squire sat in the saddle, with Dave Walsh and Newt Garson watching cowhands move the many herds. I see you've even got the Loomis cattle. Yeah. The old woman figured there's no use in standing alone, so she went along with the rest. A very good purchase, Garson. Very good. Some of the stock's poor. Food and water will fix it. You figure your loan is safe enough, Squires? I do, now that Walsh is involved. But I wouldn't put it beyond you to try to run out on me, Garson. Don't worry, I'm here to stay. As soon as the railroad's first done, so as I can ship this stock at low cost, it'll sell out. And we'll pay you off. Split a nice profit, huh, Garson? Right. It was a smart move, send that masked man to the meeting. Jim Baker was all set to go against me. That critter dealt with him. What'd you have him say to Baker? You talking to me? Didn't you send him, Garson? No. Don't even know what you're talking about. What masked man? Hey, don't either one of you know about him? Well, I don't. I only know about one masked man. That critter's not doing me any favors. Fact is, he better keep out of my sight. I'm gunning for him. Well, that be in the case, Garson. You better get set for gunplay. Because that's him coming from over yonder. Where? Right over there. That's the one I'm talking about. There's an Indian with him. That's the critter. That Indian was with him before. He's got a pile of nerve to come here. He's got a pile of nerve to go to my Loomis' place, too. Now I'll call him. Now, wait, Garson, please. Don't start gunplay while I'm here. You. You're the one I want to talk to. That's why I'm here, Garson. I don't draw. I told Garson how you helped Jim Baker make up his mind. Maybe you made up your mind to side with us. Er, with Garson, huh? How does it feel to own all the cattle in the county? You talking to me? To all of you, including the banker. I? I'm not in partnership. No? Perhaps I'm misinformed. I thought it was your money that backed all the deals of the past few days. Well, uh, uh, purely business proposition. Banking business. Why are you so nervous, Squire? Well, uh... Perhaps you found out why there's cause to worry about your loan. What's that? Garson, I'm going to be interested in seeing you solve a problem that no one else could solve. What are you talking about? Oh, the ranchers sold you their cattle because they couldn't keep it alive without water. Well, I... Have, uh, you found a way to do that? Garson has water. Lots of it. Oh? Well, that's good. I thought the water hole was the only supply. It is. That water hole will take care of five times what I got here. That water hole, Garson, is dry. What? Dry. Can't be. No. No. Don't say that. Go and see for yourself. Well, I sure will. It can't be dry, I tell you. It can't be. Well, if that is the case... It ain't. It's never gone dry. Well, let's go see. Yeah. You two go ahead. The banker will go to town with Toto. Now, now, now, wait a minute. I... The choice isn't yours. Take him to town, Toto, and give him orders. No Indian can give me orders. I'll have you know. Take over, Toto. Ah. You come. Put that knife away. Don't start to town. Yes, yes, I'll go. I'll go with you. Go with him, squires, and listen to him. Get him up, scum. Yes, yes. Get up. I don't get any part of this. Who are you? Don't you want to go and find out about that water hole? Come on, Garson. I'll ride with you in Walsh. Get up there. Get up. Come on, Silver. Well, that's all, Garson. And that will soon be as dry as the rest of the land around here. But it can't dry. If it can't, it's spring-fed. There's always been water here. Well, there's sewers, sewers, sewers, and there ain't no water there now. And there might never be water there again. Do you want to know why? I'm going to know why. I'll get the truth about this if I have to spend the rest of my life doing it. All you'll have to do is ride with me. Ma Loomis can tell you the answer. And that's where I'm heading. Come on, Dave. I'll take you over there. Come on, Silver. Get up. Long before the two men who followed the Lone Ranger reached Ma Loomis' place, they saw a group of cattlemen near the low building. The same cattlemen who had sold out at $5 a head. Approaching closer, they saw a freshly turned herd. Then they saw a large, wide ditch and... Hey, water! They got water there! Oh, so, Lord. Oh, oh. There's Ma Loomis. Hey, and Baldy. Jim Baker. Easy. Hey, I want to talk with you. Well, howdy, Garson. We sure hope you aim to see that the cavalry soldier gets well took care of. Have the water in your place, Garson. Where'd this water come from? Look at it. Just look and listen. It's as wet as can be. Where'd that come from? That's howdy, Walsh. The price you weren't here. That water. The math man can tell you about it, Walsh. Where did it come from? Garson, your poo was fed by an underground spring. Otto spent a long time locating its course. But he found that it flowed beneath the land near Ma Loomis' buildings. So all these men dug down, made a ditch, and blocked the outlet. It was a mighty big job, Garson, but I reckon it was worthwhile. You can't get away with this. Now, hold on there, Walsh. Why are you so head up? You siding with Garson? No, I... Well, I mean, I don't think this is legal. Oh, no? Well, that's up to Garson to find out. And I don't know if he can do a thing about it. I'll do plenty about it. I see through the whole thing now. Well, that math man persuaded Jim Baker to sell out to me, and all the rest of you did the same. Now you figure to make me sell the cattle back to you. Well, I won't do it. I'll fight you all the way. I've got some men that can handle guns, and I'll handle them. Listen to the pipsqueak talk big. Listen to me, Garson. You call for gunplay, and you'll find people that'll be ready and waiting to accommodate you. That's right. I'll be back, with men enough to break down that dam and let the water go back where it belongs. You'll hear from me. Here, Jim. Get up there. Gosh, he sure might be sore. Maybe we should make a deal. Whose side you on, Walsh? Why, your side. Our side. I had to sell out the same as the rest. All of you men get your horses. There's one more move to make, and I think it'll be made at Garson's ranch. Garson sent Red to bring in all the men who worked for him. They assembled in the long, low bunkhouse and faced their infuriated boss. All right, quiet down. Listen to me. Some of you already know this. The rest will hear it now. We've got all the cattle in the county and not a drop of water for them. We've been tricked. The water's cut off and dammed up at the Loomis Ranch. They can't do that. They've done it. We've got to go there and tear away that dam. It may mean gunplay. Now, don't look that way. I ain't asking you to use your guns for nothing. I want men to ride to the Loomis place ready to shoot. I'm ready to pay $50 bonus to every man that helps tear down that dam. No, you're talking. That's more like it. If they're shooting, if anyone gets hurt, I pay all the doctors better. Hey, Walsh. Someone's at the door. Quiet down a minute, boys. Who is it? Glad you got here, Walsh. What's the latest over at the Loomis place? Garson, I've got to speak to your private. Step outside here a minute. I'm lining up my man. Just step out for a second. All right. They're right in, Red. All right, boys. Now, what's the result? We'll take over now. You. Garson, he made me do it. He made me call you out. You men watch every window. Shoot anyone who tries to leave the bunkhouse. Hey, what's this? All these men. We're all here, Garson. You bet we're here. Garson, you can forget any plans you might have for returning to the Loomis place. Yeah? Well, you'll see. You're the one who'll see. Tonight, we're having a general showdown. And it includes you, too, Dave Walsh. Now, hold on. Those other ranchers will be pretty mad when they learn that you backed Garson and he schemed to buy up all the cattle. No, I didn't. If it hadn't been for you, he could never have put the deal over. That's not true. Men don't believe I'd mask men. I sold my cattle to Carson the same as the rest of them. Yeah. What else was there to the deal? Nothing. Oh, yes, I was. Walsh, why don't you tell these men how Banker Squires refused to loan any cash to Garson? Why don't you tell them how he did loan it to you? Tell them how Garson supplied the water and you supplied the credit to rob every cattleman in the county. No, that's not so. You can't prove a word of it. Perhaps you're right. I can't prove it. Hey. See, boys? He can't prove it. Just a minute. That doesn't mean that my statements can't be proved. The banker can prove them. Hello? Well, bring him in. You see, men, Toto's been waiting with Banker Squires. This is an outrage. This Indian's held me at the point of a knife since this afternoon. Did you bring a certain paper? That Indian took it away from me. Here, paper. Thanks, Toto. Men, if you'll examine this with the light that comes from the bunkhouse windows, you'll see that it's a note payable to Banker Squires for a lot of money. That note is signed by Newt Garson and Dave Walton. Liars, you liar. You said it'd never be known. You promised me. I couldn't help it. That Indian with his knife. Pass it around, men. Here, Baker. You start. Well, boys, it's the two facts. Dave Walton's with Garson all the time. No wonder the ornery sneak was for selling out. Squires, it seems that you're back to losing proposition. These two can't pay their debts until they sell their cattle. And they can't sell it unless they can keep it until the railroad comes through here. Now, wait. The cattle without water won't live that long. Hold on. Squires, you're close to the sheriff and the marshal. I know the law and so do you. They can't cut the water off this way. They can't do it. I know they can't. You also know that it will take some time for a court of law to rule on the case. Will the cattle live that long? No. No, they won't. There's a poor market for it, dead cattle. You'll never get your money back. I'll be broke. The bank will be broke. Everyone with money in my bank will lose. That's the only reason you're going to be given a chance. The ranchers will pay back the cash and take back the cattle. They will? What if I won't sell? You'll sell, Garson. You and Walt will sell all right now. You will sell this very night. Baker, Ma Loomis, the rest of you. Is this masked man speaking for all of you? Yes, yes, yes, yes. There's one more consideration. The water hole will be set apart from Garson's ranch for the use of everyone until the drought is over. How long will that be? I don't know the weather. Well, rain not come two, three weeks. You sure there'll be rain after that? Maybe not for a long time. It doesn't matter, Garson. You're accepting the terms, even though it doesn't rain for a year. You're accepting them, or I'll take the cattle in accordance with the agreement and accept them for you. Then jail you and Waltz for misrepresentation. There's one thing more, Garson. Your red-headed gunslinger shot one of my cows. Yes, Garson. What are you going to do about that? I'll pay for it, I suppose. By thunder, you're learning. The next time you try to put over a shop deal, you better be sure that masked man ain't around. That masked man. Hey, there he goes. Hold on a minute, mister. I'll be back if Garson steps out of line again. But wait, wait a minute. No use, Ma. The Lone Ranger don't like to stick around after the fun is over. Won't do that. I'll stop. I'll do that. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of The Lone Ranger Incorporated.
