A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty high old silver, the Lone Ranger. Full 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 hoof beats of the great horse, Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again. Come on, Silver. Let's go, big fellow. I'll silver. Pedro Martinez and his old friend Pete Lacy made an odd pair as they traveled throughout the west, working as little as possible. Life had become particularly dull when the two decided to have one of their unusual contests. They drew their guns and stood 20 paces apart in dueling position. Meanwhile, the Lone Ranger and Tonto had paused to rest their horses at the bottom of an arroyo. Oh, a shot. Come on, Tonto. We'll grab the bank. A shot? Right close. Over there, Tonto. Those two men, they're shooting at each other. It looked like duel. Come on, we'll try to stop it before one of them gets killed. We leave horses in the arroyo? Yes. That's enough. Show down your guns or I'll take a hand. Caramba, senor. My hands are up. Don't shoot. Don't shoot, mister. Madre mia. Pete, this is my worst. Am I? It's all use waving that gun at us, mister. We got nothing to steal. Fact is, we're so low, we shouldn't be wasting our bullets like this. We got to do something to pass the time. Relieve the monotony. What him say? What are you talking about? Amigo, we merely have the duel. We do it ever so often. You what? Si, si, amigo. You mean to say you two are friends? Seguro que si, of course, senor. That is why we shoot at each other. What are you mixing in for, mister? What's that mask mean? You and Al, Hoot? No, and we're not going to rob you. Otto and I saw you shooting at each other and we thought it was a fight. Oh, no, no, senor. We shoot at each other's hats. Let me see your sombrero, Pete. Only one fresh hole in her. Only one? Yep. Now put two in yours. Looks like a beachy this time, Pedro. Another time we do it with robes, huh, Pete? And then I shall win. Begin to understand, Otto. Well, are you Pedro Martinez? Si, si, senor. And you're Pete Lacey? That's me, mister. Oh, me not savvy. I've heard about these two, Tonto. Pete and Pedro. Pedro Martinez is one of the best men of the lariat in the state of Texas. And Pete Lacey, the best bronc buster. Senor, you honor me too much. There's a man who can handle the role better than I. Pedro's right about that, stranger. Funny part about it is this hombre we're talking about has been mistook for an outlaw plenty of times. Oh, you mean Lone Ranger. That's who. This is a strange meeting, isn't it, Tonto? Not right. I didn't know you two were in this vicinity. We cover a lot of vicinities. Oh? I don't know why it is, but me and Pedro here have the most gosh-awful times holding jobs. Perhaps, senor, you know where there's a ranch in need of help? Yes, I do. In fact, you haven't far to go. Oh, we was aiming to shove on to California. Well, men are badly needed at the Carter Ranch. We've seen it spread over yon in the valley. But the cattle had a G brand. That's the Grant Ranch. Ellen Carter's place is two miles west of here. Ellen, you say? Yes, it's owned by a girl. She's been trying to run it since the death of her father. Oh, senorita. Oh, she's young, perhaps, huh? And pretty. Dead rats, you patron. Now, don't you go getting romantic again. I got a hankering for California. What's more, I don't like to work for women. Miss Carter needs help badly. All the cowhands have left except the foreman. And it's about time you two drifters got to work. Always, Pedro, help the senorita. Now, Pete, we are going to work. Damn, Raddit. Why in tarnation does it have to be a pretty girl? My hope is to get into California a plum shot to blazes. While you two are working there, see if you can find out what's wrong. What is wrong, amigo? Why, men won't stay on the Carter Ranch. But who are you, mister? Why are you behind that mask? Pete, hold out your hand. Yeah. Like this? Yes. Here's something for you. You'll hear from Tonto and me again. Come along, Tonto. We'll get back to the horses. Ah. You think the tarners go to work? I think they will. Pete, what is it he gave you? What has he put in your hand? Look at here, Pedro. It's a bullet. It's... Pedro, look! It's silver. Silver? Madre mia. Pete, that hombre. That hombre is the one of whom I spoke. Oh, he is the Lone Ranger. Oh, come, my friend. We must go. We are asked by the Lone Ranger, and we are needed by the pretty senorita. Oh, to the saddle, I'm here. Get up there. Andele, andele. Need get cinched tight? Yes, Tonto. We're shoving on. You think those tarners find out what's wrong at Carter Ranch? I think I know what's wrong there, Tonto. Grant wanted to buy the place for about half of what it's worth when Steve Carter died. Ellen wouldn't sell. Oh, me sorry. Soon after that, the Carter Ranch hand started leaving. You think Grant'd scare him? I wouldn't put it past him. Grant has always bragged that he gets what he wants by hook or by crook, and he wants the Carter Ranch. Ready there, Silver. How do I have an idea? What path? You go to the Grant Ranch and try to get a job there. Perhaps you can learn about Grant's plans, what he intends to do about the Carter Ranch. I'll go back to last night's camp. You can find me there when you have something to report. You go now? If you're cinched up. Uh-uh. He's ready. Get him up, Scout. Hasta la vista. He's going through with it, Pedro. Si. They say California's mighty nice. Pedro Martinez de Salvador y Runiega has given his promise. Tell you what. Some females are awful strong-minded and bossy. If this one looks like that, what do you say we just ask for a handout and kind of mosey along? Well. It's only common sense, Pedro. Si. We take one look at her face and then we... Hello. Oh, Senorita. We would like to work for you. What? Si, Senorita. We would like to work on these rides. Yes, ma'am. Uh, I'm Pete Lacey and this here is Pedro Martinez. We're both top hands and need jobs. Oh, Bill, come here. Uh, won't you step inside? My foreman will talk to you. Si, Senorita. What is it, Ellen? That knack man seems to have kept his word. He sent some men here to help us out. You two looking for work? Si, Senorita. That's right, mister. I'm Bill Morgan. What are your names? I am Pedro Martinez. He's his Pete. Before I take you on, boys, I want you to get things straight. Straight? We're short-handed. You're practically living the saddle. We are used to that. Yes, he. That's one thing. The second is this. We don't want any drifters. You only plan to stay a few days, you can move on right now. We are not drifters. Why, Bill, that's insulting. How long did you stay in your last job? Why, well, my sort of personal question. It's all right. We need them, Bill, and, well, they look like good men. You can ask the masked man. He will tell you. I wasn't here when you talked to that masked man, Ellen. And I'm not sure you haven't talked too much. You may be an outlaw. An outlaw? Now you see here. You speak of the lone ranger. What proof do I have that he was the lone ranger? But I told you, Bill. He still may be an outlaw. The way things are right now, we can't have anyone on this ranch we don't trust. Well, I trust the masked man. And these two as well. Oh, gracias, señorita. But I'm the foreman. Bill, I insist that you hire these men. You insist? Yes. Think twice, Ellen. You may be sorry for it. I'll take a chance on that. Very well. You're hired. Dump your bedrolls in the bunkhouse. I'll meet you there in five minutes. See, señor. Oh, it will be a great pleasure to work for you, señorita. It was a week later when Tonto rode into the lone ranger's camp at night. Oh, scum. Oh, fella. Oh, fella. Oh. I heard that you'd been working at the Grant outfit, Tonto. And that's right. Me cook at Grant Ranch. Pete and Pedro have been working on the Carter place. Me know. Oh. And Grant hear about new cow hands and him plenty mad. Oh, he was. And that's right. Him send fella called Red. Red? What's his last name? Him named Loughran. And him plenty hard, plenty bad. Is he the one who scared the other cow hands away? Not right. I don't think he'll scare Pete and Pedro. Those two don't scare easily. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me to see Red get a beating before he leaves the Carter ranch. And that'd be plenty good. That will be the beginning of serious trouble. Tonto, I've made a few inquiries in the past week. Grant wants the Carter ranch very badly. He'll do almost anything to get it. That's right. I think I'll go back to Grant's place with you. You'll not wear a mask? No. I'll wear the working clothes of a cowboy. I'm warning you to... Listen now, redhead. You're getting powerful careless. When you see Pedro fingering a rope like that, don't you go throwing warnings around so free. You think I'm a scare of that skinny, slick hair? I warned you. I'll get you for that. Don't pull the gun. You see? Dad Raddit, you were lucky Pedro didn't clip your arm off with his rope. Now, senor, you go quick. Cut on the face, a cut on the arm, and your gun gone. That's right, Grant. Grant, the way that cruder handled a rope, I'm lucky to get back here alive. Thought you said you could take care of those two new cowhands at the Carter ranch. Now, listen, Grant, let me tell you something. They got Bill Morgan pegged for a crook. I found that out before they chased me. They think he's the one that wants to own the Carter ranch. It wouldn't surprise me if they went gunning for him tonight. Now, Alan Carter won't let Morgan get shot. There's only one answer, Red. Well, you've got to get rid of the girl and Bill Morgan as well. How many of you in the Carter bunkhouse tonight? Bill Morgan and the two new ones, Pedro and Pete. Round up the boys and tell them we're starting tonight. What have you got in mind? Fire. Carter ranch house is going to burn down with a Carter girl inside. But, boss... We'll also see that Morgan and those two others are caught in the fire. By tomorrow morning, the ranch won't have an owner. I'll step in and buy it for whatever I want to pay. Hey, what the... Come on, get in there. Get in, go on, don't stop. Farrah, what do you want? Look what we found, boss. We got him covered. It's the Indian cook. Yeah, and your new ranch hand. What is this? Your man will tell you. Boss, we found this new man in the red skin listening right outside that window. Oh, you did, huh? I don't know what you was talking about, but... This hombre said something about going for the sheriff. Yeah? What'd you mean by that, mister? You figured it out, Grant. I guess I don't need to do much figuring. Put ropes on them. They got horses? I saw the horses a little ways from the house. Put the horses in the corral and put these two in that old shack beyond the corral. Right. That place should have been burned down a long time ago. This is as good a time to do it as any. 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. The Lone Ranger, disguised as a working cowboy, was captured with tonto while the two listened to Grant make plans to set fire to the Carter ranch. Scout and Silver were roped after a struggle and put into the corral. The Lone Ranger and his Indian friend fought against the ropes that held their arms and legs. How are you coming, tonto? Ropes plenty tight. We're leaving you critters now, but I reckon you won't be bored. The boys are setting fire to a lot of dried brushes stacked up outside the place. You can think things over while you're waiting for the shack to go. We've not got much time, keeps on me. I don't think time would help, tonto. I can't do a thing with these ropes. How about you? Oh, plenty tight. All right, boys, start the fire. This place will go up like tinder. Me hear him start fire. Against that wall? That's right. Get over as close to the door as you can. I think I hear the fire. Look over there. Smoke. It come through cracks and walls. We'd only get a little slack on these ropes. Are you making any headway on yours, tonto? No. Smoke's coming in here pretty bad now. I wonder how long this will last. In the meantime, Pete and Pedro were alone in the bunkhouse at the Carter ranch. They were discussing Bill Morgan. The only trouble is, Pedro, we got no downright proof that Morgan is plotting against Miss Ellen. All we got is what that red-headed polecat told us. It's enough for Pedro. The foreman plots against the senorita. He plots to steal a ranch. We must punish him. But doggone it, there's something about the guy you can't help liking. He's made us work awful hard, but he's worked just as hard as we have. He's always got a smile and a pleasant word. It is like the wolf who wears the sheep clothes. To the face he makes friends with us, then he knifes in the back. Hmm, I never saw him carry no knife. No, he's afraid to do it himself. He hired somebody to knife us in the back with a gun. That red-headed hombre admitted it, didn't he? Si, si. Hey, look, Pedro. There's Miss Carter over by the corral. Oh, she's about to ride the horse, as usual. Gosh, she sure is pretty. Now is the time for us to go to the house, amigo. It is the time for us to deal with senor and Morgan. Come with me. You got your rope there, Pedro? Si, si, we go now. We take care of Morgan. Here's what we better do. We'd better rope him and take him to that there camp where our masked friend is supposed to be waiting. Bueno. We tell how we pay the gunman to try to run us off. Now we plot with Senor Grant to steal the ranch. I, Pedro Martinez, will teach this Morgan hombre the lesson. I will fight for the happiness of the beautiful senorita. You just be careful of that there rope, Pedro. We don't want to do Morgan no permanent hurt till we see the Lone Ranger. I saw you boys coming. Buenas noches, senor. What's on your mind? We aim to talk to you. I'm going to show you a little trick with the rope. Later on, boys. I'm doing some paperwork in here. I don't have time for any rope tricks right now, Pedro. No? We shall see. Hey, get that rope off of me. So sorry, senor. That's the idea, you loco sidewinder. Close the door, Pedro. Yeah. I finished roving you, senor. Now we take you to see a friend of ours. Thanks, Ponyville. Better stop fighting, Morgan. I'll have to soften your head with a barrel of my six-gun. This is a joke you two will regret it. Get his arms behind his back, Pedro. Yeah. There. How'll that do? I fix him now. No use you struggling anymore, Bill. Bill, we got your home tied right. We'll teach you to hire a gunslinger to run us off the ranch. Hire a gunslinger? Are you loco? He tell us all about it. Don't try to lie, senor. We have the goods all over you. Now, wait a minute, boys. There's something back of what you're talking about. If you met up with a gunslinger, he came from Grant. Grant's been trying to buy this ranch. You tell back to the Lone Ranger. That's Helen. What is it? What happened? Let me look. Open the door. See what's going on out there. Get that door open. Do you hear me? Mother me. Holy mackerel. Who are those men? Get these ropes off of me. Help. Help. Stop them. Stop them. Pete, you're gone. I don't have it. Grab those two. What's the gunplay? I'll get this rope. You've got a loose head and tied me up. Ellen, get this rope off me. No, you don't. Let me go. Let me go. Do you hear me? Don't rip. Pull, catch. You. Good work. Read you nearly. Let me a pin. That's a stop. You can't get away with this, Grant. You can't. Do you hear me? Oh, no. Tie them up, boys. And we'll get on with our work. Meanwhile, the Lone Ranger and Tonto found their struggles futile in the shack, which was rapidly filling with smoke. Oh, it's no use. This rope won't give an inch. Tonto, that sounds like silver. That is silver. Silver. Silver. Come on, silver. It's our only chance. You can kick a door. Roll to the side, Tonto. You can break that door in. You can roll out of here. Squirm over to the side. Don't be savvy. Come on, silver. Come on, boy. The door almost went down that time. Come on, silver. Again, old fella. Come on, silver. Once more, silver. You did it, boy. The great horse, Silver, drew back as the door crashed down before the onslaught of his powerful hoofs. The Lone Ranger and Tonto, their hands and feet still tied, rolled and squirmed across the floor to the opening and out into the welcome, fresh air. They inched their way along the ground, back from the flames and heat, then waited for silver to do a trick that he had learned from hours of patient training by the Lone Ranger. The white stallion went to work on the hard ropes with his teeth. You know what to do, silver. Come on, boy. The rope. The knot. Free silver. Free big fellow. Silver knew what was required. While the Lone Ranger leaned far forward, the horse chewed at the hard rope that held the master's hands behind his back. Meanwhile, the fight at Ellen Carter's ranch was finished. Pedro and Pete recovered consciousness to find themselves tied up on the floor of the living room. Ellen and Bill Morgan were similarly tied nearby. They're going to set fire to this place. That's what they was talking about. If you jugheads hadn't got the idea, I was a crook working with Grant and tied me up. Well, Dad righted Bill. How was we to know? We heard what the red-headed man said. Yeah, I know. You've been over all that. Pedro, you sure made a mistake about Bill. It is too bad. Your feet are tied. I would like for you to give Pedro Martinez the swift key. That's it, boys! Oh, they've started the fire. Move back a little, boys, so you can watch it without getting too hot. The ornery buzzards. Doggone it, Miss Ellen. I wouldn't mind dying in here if it wasn't that you and Bill are going to go with us. Oh, I should have known better than to try to fight Grant. I should have sold out to him. Ellen, there'll be a day when men like Grant won't get away with this sort of high-handed business. We won't see it, but it's coming. That Lone Ranger can't be everywhere, but there'll be more like him and more and more. Oh, Bill. Mark my words. The time is coming when Grant and the claim jumpers and the cattle rustlers and all the rest of that kind will be driven out. You'll find just as much law here as there is in the east. Like you say, Bill, the Lone Ranger can't be everywhere, but I sure know where I wish he was right now. I hear gunfire. No, senorita. It is the crackling of the flames. Right front it is. Do you hear that? And that great day in the morning, he's here. Peter, me to me. He's a fight. And here we sprawl on his floor, hog-tied so we can't get in it. Dog got it. A fight and me out of circulation. The shooting seems to have stopped. What does that mean, Bill? I wish I knew. Over there, the flames. They're coming through the wall. If we're going to get rescued, it's got to come down right suddenly. I'll have you out of here in a couple of seconds. It's you, senorita. Got a rope, amigo. That's what I planned to do. I have another knife here, Ellen. Can you use it? Yes, yes. Here, take it. Cut Bill Morgan free. Right. Let me get your hands, Pete. I don't know of anything you could say that it sounds more welcome. There you are. Let me have that knife. I'll cut Pedro loose. There you are, Bill. I don't know. I brought the sheriff and some men. We knew what was going on here. He's got Grant and his gang. They're all in custody. There you are, Pedro. Gracias, gracias, amigo. Come on, Ellen. Get out of here before we're trapped by the fire. But the others... Get out. We'll follow you. A small group stood in the darkness near the burning remains of the house. There were tears in Ellen's eyes. Oh, come on. We'll build another house, Ellen. One for the two of us to start our married life. I shouldn't cry over the house. I should be grateful for being alive. The wagon is over here, honey. Come on. We're going to town. The sheriff's wife will take care of you. Oh, wait. The masked man. We must show him that we appreciate what he did. Just a minute, Ellen. I want to speak to Pete and Pedro. You two come over here, will you? Say, are you sure that Grant will have to pay for the damage he's done? The sheriff will see to that, Pete. Well, by darn, he'd better. I want you and Pedro to make a promise to me. Oh, we are alive, amigo, because of you. What you ask, we must give. When Bill and Ellen are married, they're going to need reliable men. Men like you two. Oh, me, senor. I never leave. I stay here always. Ah, perhaps someday Bill Morgan, he dies, huh? And perhaps then Pedro becomes the one to marry the senorita. Like fun you will, Pedro. By thunder, I'll be hanged if I'll stand around and see a fine girl like Miss Ellen married up to a drifting, tumbleweed like you. You speak like that to Pedro? No, I'll be. I will not stand. Well, what in places do you aim to do about it? A duel. I see. Do we fight? Oh, what's this about a duel? It's hard to understand, Ellen. As long as these two are dueling, they're the best of friends. Here, hold it, you two. Cut it out. You and Bill will have to keep an eye on them. The time comes when they refuse to fight. Find out what's come between them. All right, Silver, we're moving on. Oh, but wait, I... You'll have no trouble keeping ranch hands now. Steady, big foot. Wait, I... Bill, he's gone. I guess men like that don't like to be thanked, Ellen. That's the way of it, Miss Ellen. But don't you worry even if the Lone Ranger is gone. You've still got me and Pedro. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.
