A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty hyo 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. Silver, the Lone Ranger rides again. Come on, Silver. Let's go, big fellow. Are you still there? Just at sunset, the drums started, and the Lone Ranger and Tonto followed the sound into the hills. It was dark when they finally rained on the rim of a wide basin. Below them, a great fire reached toward the sky, and around it, hundreds of Indians were dancing. Tonto, this land isn't on the reservation. Isn't that right? This place for the Indian, come old time. What kind of a ceremony is it? Well, it's a war dance, Kimasadi. A war dance? Ah. These are White Eagle's braves, aren't they? Ah. They haven't made any trouble for years. Tonto not know what matter. There's an Indian agent in the next valley at Greenville. Isn't that right? He may not realize what's going on. We'd better warn him. Maybe so. One, three, three! Get him up, scouts! The Masked Man and the Indian rode down from the hills and across the plain to the little town of Greenville. The Lone Ranger wasn't known in the town, and he waited outside while Tonto went on to the Indian agent's office. Oh, scouts, oh, fella. Oh, fella. He's a scouts. There was a light in the window, and Tonto could see men inside. They were John Fawcett, the agent, Lance Carter, and Tim Mason, a clerk. What do you want, Indian? Me want to see agent. The office is closed. Come back tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, too late. Tonto, bring news. All right, I'm John Fawcett. I'm the agent. What is it? Well, White Eagle Braves leave reservation. They have? Ah, shut up. Where are they, Indian? Tell the truth, or I'll have you thrown in jail. Why, Tonto, come here if him not tell truth. Well, tell me. Them at Buffalo Basin make war dance. That does it! I told you to keep quiet, Lance. You're sure about that, Indian? Ah. You're sure they're getting ready to go on the war path? Ah. Why then do that? Because they're a pack of sneaking renegades. Now get out of here. You'll not give Tonto a good answer. You've got all the answers you're going to get. Get out of here. Uh-huh. Let me go. Uh, Tim. You'd better go home. At a time like this, Mr. Fawcett? If the Indians are on the war path, that means they'll raid the town or the ranchers. Get some supper, Tim. You may have to be on duty here all night. Yeah, right, sir. Now can I laugh? No. This is only the beginning. But there can only be one ending, John. They've broken their treaty. You call in the soldiers. They'll get here too late to save the town, but the Indians can't win in the long run. After it's all over, Washington will take your recommendation that the reservation be moved into the badlands. And then, we step in and buy the land we want. A lot of things can still go wrong. We can't let Washington find out why they've broken the treaty. After there's a massacre, a few head of cattle won't seem important. Just the same, I'm glad that we have papers to keep us in the clear. Why, of course, John. You've done your duty. It isn't your fault that White Eagle's a thief and sold me half the cattle that should have gone to his tribe. Come on. Yeah. I'll telegraph the fort and notify the sheriff to alert the town. Tonto was waiting in the shadows outside the agency office, and he followed the two men. First to the railroad station, then to the sheriff's home. Afterwards, he rode out of town and rejoined the Lone Ranger. Oh, Scott. Well, Tonto. Me tell you. What did he say? Him not ask me any questions. Only where Indian are. You mean the news didn't surprise him? No. He was expecting the Indians to leave the reservation? Well, that's what Tonto thinks. But why? Why should they? Did he know of any reason? Well, me ask him. Him say them renegades. Him tell Tonto get out. But White Eagle's tribe aren't renegades. And then, Kimasabi, Tonto followed the men from office. Agent called John Fawcett. Other fellow named Lance. Yes. Well, them go to telegraph office. Me listen. Them send message to fort. Well, troops come plenty soon. Fawcett tell man who send message. Maybe Indian attack town tonight. They may. It looks as if they're going to attack somewhere tonight. The troops can't possibly get here before late tomorrow afternoon. We must try to stop White Eagle. Ah. In order to do that, we'll have to find out why the Indians have left the reservation. Tonto try to find out. How, Kimasabi? Me go to White Eagle. But that's dangerous. The tribe's ready to go on the war path. They know you're a friend of the white men. Oh, that's right. You stay close. Them try to make prisoner, Tonto. You help them escape. Well, it looks like the only way. All right, Kimasabi, let's go. Steady, big fellow. Easy. One, two, three. Let's go. Once more, the Lone Ranger and Tonto rode into the hills. And this time, they didn't stop at the rim of the basin, but continued on down the slope from the cover of one great boulder to another. At last, they reached a point where they could see the painted faces of the Indians and the commanding figure of White Eagle lighted by the great fire. Steady, Silver. Steady. Easy now. Oh, fella. You look, Kimasabi. Indian not have rifle. Them in pile near White Eagle. Yes, I see. You have to get away fast. I'll be able to reach you before they can get to their guns. Ah. You leave Scout with me. That right. You do that. Like Tonto tell you, it's better to walk now. Me raise arm high, close fist. Me want help. We'll be waiting. The Lone Ranger watched Tonto walk into the circle of light cast by the fire and raise an arm in greeting to White Eagle. The greeting was returned, and they began to talk. The masked man was unable to hear them, but because the dialect used so many signs that he understood, he was able to follow them. Cattle. Cattle, they were promised by the great white father that they never received. And then Tonto was telling the chief that the wise thing to do was not to fight, but to hold counsel with the Indian agent. The Lone Ranger was unable to understand White Eagle's violent reaction to this speech. But there was no mistaking the meaning of his shouted commands to the braves who stood around him. They started toward Tonto, and Tonto raised his arm in the signal for help. Come, Silver. Move, Scout. Leading Scout, the masked man urged Silver straight toward the campfire. He dropped Silver's reins and, guiding him with his knees, reached for his sixth gun and fired into the air. For a moment, panic seized the Red Men, and in that moment, the Lone Ranger reached Tonto's side. Tonto wrenched himself free from his captors and leaped to Scout's back. Then the two men raced toward safety. Move, Scout. Move, Scout. The great speed of their mounts carried them beyond the circle of light before the Indians could reach their guns and open fire. Some of their shots were close. A piece of rock chipped by a ricochet hit the Lone Ranger's cheek. And then the great boulders near the top of the basin were reached, and the danger was passed. The masked man and the Indian reigned up on the rim. Oh, Silver. What happened, sir? What did White Eagle tell you? Them fight about cattle. Yes, I understood that. But what else? Well, government promise Indian, thousand head. Fawcett only give them five hundred. There are plenty Indian on reservation, and White Eagle say, when winter comes, them starve. Has Fawcett refused to deliver the other five hundred? Fawcett say White Eagle already get thousand heads and signed paper. Fawcett say White Eagle sell cattle, keep money himself. Oh, I see. That's not true, Kimasabi. White Eagle not steal from own people. Why, of course not. But he can't read, can he, Tonto? No. And when he received the five hundred head, he made a mark on a paper. Not right. Well, the paper may have been a receipt for a thousand head. Oh. You mean Fawcett tricked chief. Looks that way to me. Did you tell White Eagle that the troops have been sent for? If he attacks Greenville, the army will be after him? Well, Tonto, try to tell him, but him not listen. Oh. That's when him tell Braves, hold Tonto prisoner till after attack. I'm afraid he won't listen to any arguments now. Ah. And what do you do? He's going to try and have a talk with Fawcett. You ride into town? That's where he is, Kimasabi. Sheriff, see you wear a mask? Him rest you. We'll keep to the back streets. We may be able to get to the agency office without being seen. Uh-uh. Come on, Silver. Get him up, Scout. Greenville had been warned the Indians were on the warpath, and nearly all the inhabitants were gathered around the sheriff's office. The Lone Ranger and Tonto found the back streets deserted. Easy, easy, Silver. Easy. Listen, Tonto. Men are getting ready to fight. Uh-uh. But the Indians not attacked before dawn. That gives us plenty of time. Next turn, need to back agency office. Good. Light was pouring from the rear windows of the agency, and the masked man and the Indian reined up in the shadows of the building next to it. Easy, Silver. They dismounted and made their way cautiously toward one of the open windows. Tim Mason was the only person inside. That isn't Fawcett? No. Probably a clerk. You wait for Fawcett here? No, we'll have a talk with this man. Oh. You, turn around. What? You're covered. A masked man. Don't raise your voice. Go to the front windows and close the shutters. You've got a lot of nerve. Do you realize... Hurry up. All right. Now the other window. And don't try to signal to anyone outside. I won't. Good. Come in, Tonto. Where's Fawcett? Outside with the sheriff, I guess. Who are you? My name's Tim Martin. You work for Fawcett? I work for the government. I think there's a difference. So you have the safe open. That's fine. There's no money in there. I want to see a receipt. One White Eagle signed for his cattle. Why... Why, sure. I got it right here on my desk. Thanks. What do you want with it? That's government property. It says a thousand head, Donovan. Oh. Of course it says a thousand head. Here's our bill of sale from the Bar X where we bought them. The Bar X is the ranch by the creek, isn't it? No, no. That's a lazy bee. Belongs to Greg Baker. But we saw a Bar X cattle there. Well, the Bar X is 50 miles south of here. It's a big outfit. There's nothing to prevent Greg from buying stock from them, too. No, there isn't. Wait. Keep away from that safe. You're not moved. What's this drawer marked Fawcett? It's only his personal papers. That's what I'm looking for. Please, mister, don't touch that stuff. I'm responsible. I've got it. You've got what? What are you taking? Another receipt with White Eagle's mark on it. A receipt for $5,000 paid to White Eagle for 500 head of cattle. It's made out to Lance Carter. At that moment, the door opened and Lance Carter stepped into the office. A masked man and an Indian. Help! Sheriff! Open up to my elbows! 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. As Lance Carter opened the door of the Indian agent's office, he saw the Lone Ranger and Tonto, and he called to the sheriff for help. The masked man's gun was leveled at him, however, and he didn't dare reach for his own. Out the window, Tonto. Uh-huh. The Lone Ranger kept Lance covered until the last second, until he was out the window and turned to run toward Silver. In that instant, Lance fired. The sheriff and his men then poured into the office. I think I winged him. What's up, Lance? The masked man and the Indian. What were they after, Tim? They didn't get any money. The horses are out and back. Hey, they're getting away. I'm not standing after. What a business, Sam. Now tell me, what were they doing in here, Tim? Yes, Tim. I want to know, too. Well, they didn't get any money, Mr. Fawcett. I told them it wasn't in the safe, and it wasn't. The cash box was still in my desk. What did they get? Oh, just some papers. A receipt with White Eagle's mark on them for the cattle. Another one that must have belonged to Mr. Carter. Boy, you blithering idiot. Well, it wasn't my fault. I couldn't stop them. They had a gun on me all the time. Go on. Ride with the sheriff. You saw them. You could identify them. Yes, sir. John. Wait. White Eagle couldn't have sent them here. He doesn't have sense enough to know what we did to him. Oh, White Eagle didn't send them. But I heard one of them calling to his horse as he rode away. He called him Silver. Oh, what of it? What of it? It must have been the Masked Man. And that Masked Man must have been the Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger? The sheriff doesn't know him. Nobody else around here does. We're going to join the posse and make sure they bring him back here. Dead or alive? No, Lance. Not dead or alive. Dead. Come on. Once outside of town, the Lone Ranger and Toto gave Silver and Scout their heads, and they raced toward the wooded ground near the creek. When they had reached safe cover, the Masked Man reined up. Oh, Silver. Hold on. Hold on. Easy now. Hold on. Hold on. We wait here. For a little while, Toto, we'll ride on to the Baker Ranch. I'm pretty sure what happened now. Fawcett bought a thousand head from the Bar X, delivered 500 to White Eagle, and Lance sold the rest to Greg Baker, the cattle we saw across the creek. But you have papers, say, White Eagle sell cattle to Lance. He didn't, of course. It's easy enough to forge White Eagle's mark. Oh, easy, steady boy. Kimasabi, you're wounded. Yes, Toto. That was a lucky shot of Lance's. It caught me in the side here. Will you bandage it for me? Let me do that plenty quick. Help me off with my shirt. Toto, do it. It'll be hard enough to explain my mask to Baker. I don't want him to know that I'm wounded as well. Well, it better you lie down, Kimasabi. This wound deep, you lose plenty of blood. All right, I'll take it easy for a few minutes. Toto washed and dressed the wound. When he had finished, the Lone Ranger insisted on putting on a clean shirt and going on to the Baker Ranch. They fought at the stream, and a few minutes later, stopped in front of the Baker Ranch house. Oh, Silver. Hold on there. Easy, big fella. Better stay out here and stand guard, Toto. Who's there? Wherever you are, I've got you covered. Must be Baker. He's heard about the Indians. Who's there? A friend. I need your help to stop the Indians. I'm not leaving my ranch. I've got a wife and kid to protect. Leaping cactus, your mask. I'm not an outlaw. I only came here to try and prevent a massacre. Yeah? It's only outlaws that wear masks. But I guess even your kind would be on our side against the Indians. If you've got some news about them, I'll listen. It concerns you, Baker. Who is it, Grace? Stay inside, Mary. Well, he's mad. It's all right. I've got him covered. Now, speak your piece and speak it fast, mister. Toto. Toto. Suddenly, a wave of blackness swept over the Lone Ranger. But almost at once, he felt Toto's arm around him, holding him up. Voices reached him from a great distance. The voices faded away. And when the Lone Ranger opened his eyes once more, he was lying on the sofa in the Baker living room. His great reserves of strength had conquered the momentary weakness, and his head was clear once more. Toto was telling the young rancher what Fawcett and Lance had done. And as the masked man studied Greg and Mary, he felt confident he could appeal to their integrity. I hope you believe what Toto's told you. Oh. Are you all right? I'm fine. Do you believe Toto? Yes, I guess I do. But what can I do about it now? Greg, our government made the Indians a promise. That means that you made them a promise. It's your duty to see that it's kept, in spite of Fawcett. I admit I bought cattle from Lance. There was nothing wrong with that. I paid for it. Do you mean to say that I have to give it up and lose my money? I don't think you will in the long run. And if you round up that 500 head and drive it to White Eagle's encampment tonight, you'll restore his faith in the white man's word. And you'll prevent a massacre. How much do the lives of the people in the valley mean to you? I can answer that. Can't I, Greg? Yes, Mary. I want to do what's right. Then do it. We, we're just taking your word, mister. That's all I have to offer. My word against these papers here. It's good enough for me. And for me, too. I'll get the boy started right away. I knew you'd come through, Greg. And believe me, you won't lose by it. You'll have to go to court to get your money back from Lance. But when that time comes, you'll find that you have powerful friends on your side. Men who'll want to put Fawcett and Lance where they belong. Who believe in the future of the West. They're ready to fight the honor of our country. It sounds like the side to be on, mister. It sounds like your side. We, we'll be happy to fight with you. The sheriff's posse, in pursuit of the Lone Ranger and Tonto, had ridden into the hills. Fawcett and Lance had joined it, and they urged the sheriff to continue on to Buffalo Basin. There, they made the mistake of letting the Indians see them. They're coming after us. Back to town, men. Why not attack right now? Nothing doing. We're outnumbered five to one. Let's go, men. As the posse reached the plain, they saw a herd of cattle moving toward them. And as they drew close enough to make out the men riding with them... Sheriff, there's the mask man. That's him, all right. Not another horse like that in this part of the country. Those are Greg Baker's cows. I heard I sold them. The mask man's not only a thief, he's a rustler. Open fire. No. What's the matter? You don't shoot him, he'll shoot you. Can't you see that Greg's with him? We can't take any chances. Hold your fire, men. Hey, we're not going to stop and falaver with those Indians after us, are we? We'll have to stop and find out what's going on. Get out of the way, Sheriff, so I can get a shot at the mask man. There'll be no gunplay. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. All right, mask man. You and the Indian are under arrest. You don't know what you're doing, Sheriff. I want to know what you're doing, Greg. Where do you think you're going with those cows? I'm returning some stolen property. Huh? They belong to White Eagle. You're a local. That's a herd I sold you. You and Fawcett stole them first. That isn't true. The mask man's got papers on him to prove it isn't true. Greg's seen the papers. I sure have. And they won't save you two from jail. Hey, we can't stop here and argue. The Indians will have our scalps. They're attacking. They're coming after us. Sheriff, I have a proposition. Don't listen to him. How do I can stop this attack? You'll let us ride on and meet White Eagle. It's a trick. He'll only try to escape. You've got to listen to the mask man, Sheriff. You want to save Greenville, don't you? I'll take any chance to do that. Then just listen to him. Wait here with me in the herd. Let the mask man and Tonto ride on. Might as well, Sheriff. There. We can see the bottom of the hill trail from here. You can wait for White Eagle there. I'll let you ride that far, mask man. If you can stop the Indians, I'll believe you're right about the cause of all this trouble. If you're killed, we'll still be able to get away. Go to it, mister. Come on, sir. Let's come. The lone ranger and Tonto rode to the bottom of the hill trail and reined up. Oh, sir. Hold on. A few minutes later, they saw the Indians, with White Eagle in the lead, racing down the trail toward them. The lone ranger and Tonto raised their arm in a signal of peace and held their ground even when some of the Indians raised their rifles. A command from White Eagle made them lower them. He could see not only the two men waiting on the trail, but the herd of cattle out on the plain. Another command and the Indians pulled their mounts to a stop. Then, after a moment's consultation, White Eagle and a half a dozen braves, their guns ready, rode on toward the lone ranger and Tonto. White Eagle can understand me, can't he, Tonto? Yeah, and I'd better you talk. White Eagle, I come to ask for peace. White Eagle, not trust white man's word. You're right not to trust John Fawcett. But the people in the valley didn't know until tonight that he was trying to cheat you. You can see the cattle out there. It's yours. The people of the valley want you to have it. Oh, that good. You and your braves can drive them back to the reservation right now. White Eagle, not let John Fawcett come to reservation again. Don't worry. The great white father will punish him, and there'll be a new agent for the reservation. The braves who are with you are enough to drive the herd. Tell the others to wait up on the trail. Yeah. Half an hour later, the Indians were peacefully driving their cattle back toward the reservation, and the sheriff and his men were witching them. Well, sheriff, do you still want to arrest Tonto and me? No. No, I had a talk with him, mister. Yeah. Well, and I figure it's the best thing for most of us if you two were free to roam all around. Uh, what about John Fawcett and Lance? Well, it's different with those two. You'll notice them out wearing their guns, and I've got a couple of deputies watching them. Maybe it's a federal law they broke, but Greg said that they cheated him out of some money. I'll keep them in jail on that charge, and till I can turn them over to the colonel in the morning. In that case, Tonto and I can be on our way. It's all right with me. Adios, then. So long, mister. Adios, Greg. I'll do it. I'll stop it, sir. Are you letting the masked man leave? Sure am, Joe. A man who owns a horse like his ought to have a chance to ride him. What? Of course, there's another little reason. He just happens to be the Lone Ranger. I'll do it. Oh! This is a feature 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.
