fiery horse with a speed of light, a clod of dust, and a hearty, hi-oh, silver, the Lone Ranger. His 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. One, two, three. Let's go, big fellow. One, two, three. Jeff Morris was a large, good-natured rancher who took things as they came and did what he could to make life easier for other people. Jeff finished his breakfast one morning, then leaned back in his chair and spoke to his wife, Miranda. Ah, Miranda, I reckon you heard about the folks who've moved into the Marvin place west of here, haven't you? I can't say as I have, Jeff. Fact is, I didn't even know the Marvins were gone. Well, I guess I forgot to mention it. The Marvins left for South Texas now until a month ago. They did? Yeah. Now, Jed, how could you forget to tell me that? Well, I reckon I was too busy with the roundup about that, Miranda. Anyhow, somebody took over the place. Two females, they say. Jed, just to say two females don't tell me a thing. Are they young? Oh, as far as I can make out, they're sort of in between. Mary. I didn't ask, but I did hear they're spinster ladies. Well, why didn't you say that in the first place? Then I would have known they were over 30, anyhow. How would you know that? Because no one out here stays single very long unless they're over 30. Women, that is. You know, it beats me how you seem to know everything, Miranda. You know, what you ought to do is to go over and pay a visit to the Marvins place and meet them two women. Why, Jed, I never knew you'd want me to take an interest in the neighbors before. I declare it does my heart good to have you feel that way about me. It's fine, fine. You know, folks in Frontier Town keep asking me questions about them women that I can't answer. I know if you go to visit them, you'll stay till you find out everything there is to know about them from the cradle on. Jed Morris, is that any way to talk about your own wife? Is it? Well, it's better than lots of other ways I can think of, Miranda. Hmm. Oh, well, I guess I'd better get out on the range and see how the Brandon's coming along. If you want to visit them spinster ladies at the Marvins place, Tex will hitch up the buckboard for you. After what you said, Jed Morris, I wouldn't think I'd... Now, careful, Miranda. You'd better think it over first. Well, if I want to go over there, I'll call Tex. Now, you get going out to the range, Jed Morris. When you go, don't stay all day. I'll see you at supper. I'll see you at it. Miranda Morris felt a tinge of excitement as she turned the buckboard into the entrance of the Marvins place. Since her husband Jed had told her the two women had moved there, Miranda was anxious to see and talk to them. Gossiping was Miranda's pastime, and she knew the strange women now living at the Marvins place would prove to be more than a morsel to pass on when she told them about the neighbors. Soon she reined up in front of the house. Oh, whoa there, whoa, steady. Do hope they invite me to eat with them. Must be almost noon. Well, good morning. I'm Randy Morris from over on the next ranch, the Circle B east of here. I see. What is it you want? Lance sakes, I just come to pay a neighborly visit, that's all. Guess I should have come before this, but that lunkhead Jed, my husband, you know, he didn't tell me about your being here until... Come in for a few minutes if you like. Well, thanks. You can sit down over there, Mrs. Morris. It's right comfortable in here, I do declare. We like comfort. Aren't you going to sit down too? No, I'm too busy to sit and gossip. Gossip? My lands, if you think I just came here to gossip... Well, isn't that what you did come for? You want to know why we came, where we came from, who we are and all that. Isn't that true? Well, now if you don't want to tell me... Sure, I'll tell you. My name's Stella Meadows, my sister's name is Doris, she's an invalid, I brought her out here for her health. We came from St. Louis. Now you know everything you need to know. Oh, now that's too bad about your sister. You know, I'm right good at handling sick folks, so I'll be glad to run over and relieve you whenever you... Thank you, but I won't have to call on you, I'm sure. But heavens to Betsy, you'll want to get to town now and then. Why? Well, I... That is... For God's sakes, any woman likes to get to town sometime. If even just to look around and see other people. I'm not interested in other people, Mrs. Morris. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Yes. Yes, of course. You know, I declare with no husband to take care of you and all. You have quite a load to carry. Sometimes a husband is a handicap and a responsibility, Miss Morris. You're fortunate if yours is not. It was nice of you to come. Well, goodbye, Miss Meadows. Maybe I'll be running over some other time. No need to trouble yourself. Goodbye. Bye. Get up there. That afternoon, in their camp in the Enchanted Hills, the Lone Ranger and Tonto were looking over some handbills, which the Indian had brought from the Sheriff's office in Frontier Town. Oh, wait. Here's one, Tonto, from St. Louis. Ah. Him mean-looking young fella. Yes, that's Dave Miller, bank robber and killer. Let's see, it says, wanted for bank robbery and murder. Dave Miller, 31, red hair, blue eyes, 5 feet 8. Them think him come west, Kimasabi. Yes, I know. Sheriff Taylor's been watching all the trains in the east. Miller made a clean getaway after holding up a big bank in St. Louis. See, that was six weeks ago. Him seemed pretty smart. Yes. There's no room for a man like Miller out here. We'll keep a lookout for him. Oh, I forgot to tell you. We're out of bacon and coffee, Tonto. Oh, well, me go back to Frontier Town and get him. Here, Scout. I'll ride along with you to the edge of town. Here, Silver. Easy, big horse. Easy, Scout. Come on, Scout. While the Lone Ranger waited at the edge of town, Tonto went to the general store for the needed supplies. When he entered, Miranda Morris was talking to old Laramie Bates, the storekeeper. I've got the surprise of my life, I can tell you. Is that so, Miranda? Indeed, it is so. Why, do you know that woman was hardly civil to me? Can you believe it? She even accused me of coming there to snoop. Well, well. It ain't possible. Maybe not, but I'm telling you the truth. Well, of course, me being a lady, I just kept my temper and let it pass. Uh-huh. Do you know, Mr. Bates, her sister's an invalid. They come from St. Louis and took the Marvin place so she can get her help back. I didn't get to see her, of course. Well, you're slipping, Miranda. Randy, you should have busted right into the bedroom to get a look at the sick one. Oh, I couldn't do that, you know. Anyhow, I'll contrive to get in to see her in due time. I'm sure you will. Now, is there anything else you want? Oh, I forgot to tell you. That woman's name is Stella Meadows, and the sick one is named Dora. You know, my Jed was right when he said he thought they wasn't married. Stella Meadows is sour about it, seems to me. What makes you think so? For land sakes, when a woman comes right out and says a husband is a responsibility and a handicap. Isn't that being sour, of course, she hasn't got one? Eh, maybe so. Of course it's so. I'll come back for my things, Mr. Bates. I have another place to go first. I won't be gone too long. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. There she goes, Tonto. Clucking her tongue about them new folks at the Marvin place. She's on her way to Mother Willard's to pass out the gossip, I bet. Her carry news like Pony Express. Well, that's hitting the name on the head, all right. What do you want to get, Tonto? Well, me want coffee and bacon. Coffee and bacon it is. Reckon you want the usual amount of each? That's right. Good. Have it for you in a jiffy, Tonto. Yes, sir. After getting the supplies, Tonto returned to the place where the Lone Ranger was waiting. Tonto told the Lone Ranger about the conversation he had overheard in the general store. I'm afraid anyone who lives in Miranda Morris' neighborhood will have a hard time keeping their personal affairs to themselves, Tonto. That's right. Morris' woman tried to find out everything. She means well, of course. Yes. The two women at the Marvin place will find out sooner or later. The best policy out here in the West is to make friends. Time may come when they may need them. Ah. We'll start back to our camp now, Tonto. Let's go. Easy, big fella. Easy, scout. Easy, fella. One, two, three, one, scout. The Lone Ranger and Tonto rode along the trail to the Enchanted Hills at a leisurely pace. As the afternoon wore on, the Lone Ranger glanced at the western sky, then spoke. There's quite a haze over the sun, Tonto. Clouds seem to be gathering in the west. Well, in a minute, we'd be atop a hill. Then we'd take good luck, Kimasabi. What do you mean, Tonto? Don't you think we can tell by... You think that not clouds. We smell smoke. Smoke? Well, as you mention it... Come on, sir. Get him up, scout. We can see farther from here. Hold the... Oh, fella. Oh, fella. Oh. Look, Kimasabi. You're right. Yes. A timber fire. And a big one. Ah, that's right. The wind turns. That fire will endanger the Morris Ranch. And maybe it burned Marvin Place, too. Yes. Tonto, right on and warn Jed Morris. I'll go to the Marvin Place and warn the two women who are living there. Their place is closer to the fire. Tell Morris to bring his men prepared to fight it. I'll wait there for you. Ah, me go now. Get him up, scout. All right, big fella. Take it easy. Come on, Stella. Meantime, two figures sat on the porch of the old Marvin Place. One of them was Stella Meadows. The other, wearing a voluminous dress and a big sun bonnet, was presumably her sister, Dora. They sat in silence for a few moments. Then Stella spoke. Dave, you know as well as I do you're taking a big chance sitting out here. Look, Stella. It's bad enough for me to be wearing your dress and this sun bonnet without having to stay in that hot room all the time. Oh, since that nosy Morris woman came here this morning, I haven't felt safe. Suppose someone else should come snooping around. This disguise is good enough to fool them as long as I don't have to talk. Now, we came all the way out here on the train with me dressed like this, didn't we? Yes, but I was a bundle of nerves, I can tell you. They searched that train at every station for Dave Miller, and you know it. But they didn't expect me to escape dressed as a woman, and I got away with it. No reason why the people out here should get wise either. I'm your invalid sister, remember? I can always stay out of sight. Being married to you has meant nothing but trouble for me all the time. Forget it. Soon they'll stop looking for Dave Miller, and you and I can go on to California and live right with the money I got from that St. Louis bank. I still don't like it. Dave, look, somebody's coming. Riding fast. Too late for me to get inside. The masked man, take this gun quick. Make him get away from here. All right, but if he... I'll slump down on the rocker and pretend I'm resting. Here he comes. Hold on, hold on. Dave, where you are, mister? Don't get off your horse. Just a minute, Miss Meadows. I only came... This gun says you have one minute to ride on away from here. Now get going before I put a bullet through 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. The Lone Ranger sat immovable in the saddle for half a moment. He observed the figure in the rocker that seemed to be resting. But though the head was bent down, the Lone Ranger noticed that a pair of sharp eyes were fastened upon him. He spoke disarmingly to Stella Meadows. I'm sorry if I startled you, Miss Meadows. Believe me, I'm not an outlaw. I came here as a friend to warn you. To warn us? What? What do you mean? There's a big timber fire raging to the west of here. I noticed the wind is now blowing this way. You and your sister are in grave danger here. Nonsense. The fire may burn itself out before reaching here. Now leave before I... I'm running out to the trail to wait for the men from the Morris Ranch. They're coming here to fight off the fire. I suggest you get your buckboard and take your sister to Mother Willard's in town. Wolf Hitler! Dave, you heard what he said? Yes. We're leaving the buckboard. But I'm not going into that town with all those nosy women around. We'll light out for Milton, the little town northwest of here, and put up at the hotel there. But maybe the trail to Milton will be cut off by the fire. We'll have to take that chance. Now get the buckboard while I get our things together. Hurry up. We can't be here when all those men get here. Miranda Morris was busy in the kitchen getting supper when her husband, Jed, came in. Well, good evening, Miranda. How did you make out over to the Marvin Priest this morning? Did you go? I went over all right, Jed. And I got the surprise of my life. Why, what happened? Man's sakes. That woman, Miss Stella Meadows, has no manners at all so far as I can see. She was downright rude to me, Jed. Well, now, I reckon them women didn't relish having company, Miranda. I only saw one of them, the one called Stella. She said her sister, Dora, was an invalid. You know, I offered to help out if I could, but she practically told me to mind my own business. Well, then, I guess that's what you better do. No use going where you're not wanting. I reckon you better just forget about them, ma'am. That's what Mother Willard told me to do. But for the life of me, I can't help pitying the one that's an invalid, having a sour-faced sister like that to take care of. Maybe the sick one's just as bad. Did you get a look at her? Land sakes. I could hardly get my foot inside the front door, much less get into the bedroom to see the other one. But like I told Laramie Bates at the general store, I'll contrive somehow to get to see them. Well, it seems like you got around and did a bit of talking about them, too. Well, after all, folks around here are interested in newcomers. Oh, yes. Why, this morning, before you went out to the range, even you were being curious about them. In fact, you were the one who suggested that I... Hey, never mind, never mind. How soon will supper be ready? By the time you go out back and get washed up, I'll have any... What's up, Tex? My lands, Tex. You seem excited about something. An Indian just rolled up out front. He wants to talk to you. An Indian? What's he want, I wonder? Said something about a big timber fire. You better come out and talk to him. Sure. See, Tex. There's sort of a burning smell in the air right now. There sure is. There he is on that paint horse. He wants to. That's more. I'm Jed Morris. A big timber fire on West Ridge. Friends say you come with men to Marvin Place. Wind, change, fire come this way. You fight it from there. Why, Santa, we'll be burned out if we don't do something quick. That's right. Who sent you? You said something about a friend. Ah. Him ride big white stallion, wear black masks. Oh, he sent you. I know him all right. Him waiting at Marvin Place. We'll go there right away. Tex, round up the men. Tell him we got to move fast to the Marvin Place and this place too. We'll go up and smoke. Sure, I'll get him right away, Tex. You say the masked man's waiting at the Marvin Place? Ah. Him go warn women who live there. Yeah. Then he meet up some trail. There's no time to lose. Well, we'll get going right away. That fire's got to be turned back somehow. A short time later, the lone ranger waiting on the trail near the entrance to the Marvin Place saw Tonto approaching with Morris and his men. Easy, Silver. Say it out, boy. Oh, look. Hey, look. He's a mask. Just forget the mask. He's a friend. Howdy, mister. Hello, Mr. Morris. We'll have to move fast to stop that fire. The wind has changed. It's coming this way. Yes, we can see the smoke right now. Now, can we stop it, boss? Certainly the masked man will find something to do. The only thing to do is to start a backfire behind the Marvin Place. That's a good idea. You heard what he said, man. Get going and start that backfire. Come on, let's get to it. Get up. Get up. You warn women, Kimo Savi? Yes. Stella Meadows met me with a gun, Tonto. I suggested she take her sister to town, the Mother Willards. They haven't come out to the trail yet. Well, then we'd better go hustle them up. Even if we keep the fire from the house, the smoke that'll drip back won't do her sick sister any good. That's right. Let's go. Come on, Stella. Get up. Come on, Stella. Go easy. Here, we'll go in together, mister. All right. Stella Meadows couldn't help but hear those men starting to backfire. I wonder. Anyone here? Gee, maybe there. Let's look around. Here's an open door. It's a bedroom. Strange. Seemed to be gone. Except they didn't come out to the trail while I was there. Hi. This is interesting. What's that you picked up? Crumpled handbill. Well, this backs up a suspicion. I already had it. Let's go out back. What was it you were going to say, mister? Little key, Morris. Come on. Well, here's the back. Yes, look. Oof and wheel marks here at the back door. Yeah. And they go off that way toward the back trail that leads to Milton. That's why I didn't see them leave. Gee, look. You mean got the backfire started and it's going good, mister? Yes, I'm sure it will. Morris. Hey. That back trail to Milton. It runs between the backfire and the fire on the ridge, doesn't it? Gee, that's right. I was waiting around front with my horse. There, Team Sabi. Otto. Now those women have gone on the buckboard. They've taken the back trail toward Milton. That trail runs between here and the burning ridge. Then be caught between fires. Yes. Easy, big fella. Stay here with the men. I'm going after them. Once. Hello there. Meantime, Stella drove the buckboard along the Milton trail. Dave, still wearing the dress and sunbonnet disguise, sat beside her. Smoke from the timber fire on the ridge drifted across the trail before them, filling them with fear and uncertainty. Dave spoke. Here, Stella. Give me the reins. Those horses are beginning to get skittish. But if anybody should see you driving the team, Dave, they'd know you weren't an invalid woman. Nobody's going to see me out here. I tell you when you... Look, a fire on the other side of us. Moving this way. Holy mackerel. Somebody started a backfire from the Marvin place. We'll be trapped between the two fires. Give me those reins. Get up there. Get up there. Dave, we can't make it. We can't. Don't talk like that. Get up there. Get up. Racing against time, the Lone Ranger urged the great white stallion, Silver, along the trail between the two fires. In spite of the smoke and the distant roar of flames, Silver exerted every effort to gain greater speed when he heard the familiar ringing cry of his master. Come, Silver. Faster, big fella. Within a short time, the Lone Ranger spied the fleeing couple ahead of him. He knew that before long, the creeping fires would meet, destroying everything in their paths. Slowly but surely, the fleet-footed Silver closed the distance between them and the buckboard, until finally, the Lone Ranger was close enough for a shout to be heard. Wait! Rain up! By this time, both Stella and Dave have become panicking, and the cry of the last man caused Dave to respond immediately. In a moment, the Lone Ranger stopped alongside. Hold, Silver! Hold! Even under the circumstances, Dave was clever enough to revert to the role of an invalid woman. Say, McCullough, there's a creek a few yards to the right. It's our only chance. I'll cut the horses loose. Why are you doing that? We'll lead them into the creek. All right, get down. Hurry. But my invalid sister... I got that invalid sister business. All right, Dave Miller, get going for the creek if you want to save your life. My gun will be covering you both. Now, come on. We'll take the horses with us. Come on, Silver. Come on. Get him. Get him. Well, we're out of danger now. Oh, look. There they are in the creek. We see buckboard burned on trail. Here, Silver, Winnie. Come to creek. Them women ought to be grateful to the masked man. That's right. He saved their lives. Hey, why are you holding that gun, mister? The one in the sun bonnet isn't a woman. Take off that bonnet, Miller. Now, wait a minute. Him have red hair. Maybe him outlaw, Dave Miller. That's right, Tonto. He is. I suspected something when Stella, his wife, refused all help and kept her so-called sister from sight. When they set out for Milton, I found that hand bill at the house. I knew I was right. Well, that sure does beat all. He robbed a bank in St. Louis and killed someone. Yes, that's right. The money is there on the bank covered with sand. See, Miller forced his wife to come along and protect him. Oh, yes. That's true. I didn't want to. Morris, you and your men can take Miller to the sheriff. I'm sure the judge will be lenient for Mrs. Miller. Come on out of the water. All right. Come on, Miller. I'll leave now. Easy, steady, big fella. Easy, fella. You and your men can have the reward for Miller's capture. Adios. Adios to you. Come on, Miller. Come on. That masked man. Well, see, I reckon Dave Miller would like to know that, too. You see, he's a kind of hombre who even saves the life of a no-good coyote like your husband, ma'am. Well, that's the Lone Ranger. Are you still there? This is a product of the Lone Ranger, Incorporated, created and produced by George W. Trendle, directed by Charles D. Livingston, and edited by Fran Stryker. The part of the Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer.
