A fiery horse for the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty hi-yo silver. The Lone Ranger. With 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 the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse, Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again. Gopher Canyon was devoid of vegetation. The floor was hard red rock, and the high walls were studded with caves and niches. Stagnant, poisonous water lay in scattered pools. It was a hot ride through the canyon, but the Lone Ranger and Tonto had chosen that route to the town of Meredith as a shortcut. Suddenly, the masked man's great white stallion came to a halt. Wait a minute, Tonto. Oh, it's got a hope, huh? Oh, oh. Why we stop here, Kimasabi? It was Silver's idea. He may have sensed danger on the trail ahead. What is it, Silver? What's the matter with you? What are you trying to tell me, big fellow? Someone ahead with rifle. That bullet was close. Someone has barricaded behind those rocks ahead. Tonto. Bullet grazed, Scout. We can't stay here in the open. We've got to retreat. Is Scout all right? Him all right. Him just touched by bullet. Come on, then. We've got to get out of here. Get him up, Scout. The lone ranger and Tonto raced along the back trail to the beginning of the canyon, then changed their course and moved along the canyon's rim until they could look down on two men who were camped behind huge rocks. Oh, come on, oh, fella. Oh, fella. Them, the fellas, will shoot. They were certainly determined to keep us from going to the canyon. I'm going to use the binoculars. Them fellas hit Scout. And them pay for that. How's his wound, Tonto? Well, it only scratched. What you see through Vassar's. Tonto, I recognize those men. They're the Wilkins brothers. Oh, yes. You remember name. Them high women. They completed the stretch in jail a couple of months ago. I wonder why they're in that canyon. Well, what them do now? They're pulling out. They may suspect that we'll try to close in on them from the rear. And what we do? They'll have at least a two-hour start on us. No use trying to chase them. We'll get to Meredith as quickly as possible and tell the sheriff that the Wilkins boys are in the canyon. It's possible that they're planning an attack on the Wells Fargo Express. What about Wells Fargo agent? Frank Warren. We tell him, too. Those crooks nearby, he'd better have an extra guard for the next trip. All right, let's go, Tonto. One, two, three. Come up, Scout. Murder had struck in the town of Meredith. And the victim was Frank Warren, local agent for Wells Fargo. Two men had been taken to the sheriff's office for questioning. It was not Sheriff Jackson who sat behind the desk. As head of the vigilance committee, I told Sheriff Jackson I'd take charge of things until he got back from Osage. Well, that's all right with me and Clem. But Dad ratted, Ed. You've got no right to haul the two of us in here for questions. Moose is right, Ed. It's not up to you to investigate a murder. You've got no authority. I'm taking the authority. Everyone in town knows that both of you critters had a fight with Frank Warren. A thunderation, Ed. That wasn't no fight. It was just a disagreement in the cafe last night. That's all it was. Sakes alive, Ed. We didn't have no shooting grudge against Frank Warren. He's dead and someone killed him. It's cold-blooded murder and I aim to find the critter that's responsible. The finger of suspicion points at one or both of you. Now, Ed, do you really think one of us would put a bullet in the war just because of a little disagreement? It goes deeper than that. You two knew that I'd made arrangements to ship my money to the East. The savings of a lifetime. Isn't that true? Sure, I knew it. And so did Moose and so did everyone else in Meredith. That's all you've talked about for the past month. Maybe everyone knew I was going to ship some money. But you two are the only ones who knew when I planned to ship it. Well, we... You knew I planned to send it out on today's express, didn't you? Well, I... You knew it. And you also knew I took that cash into the Wells Fargo office early last evening. You went there early this morning and shot Frank Warren, aiming to steal that chest with my money in it. But you got scared away. No, that's not true. You deny you were near the Wells Fargo office this morning... Well, I'm not denying it. Both me and Clem did go there, but we didn't see anyone around, so we didn't stay. I suppose you weren't in the back room at all. Frank was found there? That's right. We weren't near the back room. You can't start it, my baby. You're third degree in this. That's what you're doing. You've got no right to ask all those questions. May I come in? Hey, who's... May I ask? May I say who's that? Get your hands up, you hear me? Get them up and keep them up. I came to see Sheriff Jackson. He's out of town. As head of the vigilance committee, I'm acting in his place. My name is Marbury. Well, in that case, I'll have to talk to you. Put your guns on my desk and be quick about it. Very well, Mr. Marbury. Now stand right there. Stand right where you are while I examine these weapons. Huh? There's an exploded shell in this gun. That's right, and you'll find one exploded shell in my other gun. I carry an empty shell under the hammer. Two empty shells. And it was two bullets that killed Frank Warren. Frank Warren? The Wells Fargo agent? You're acting mighty surprised. I'm not acting. I didn't know he was dead. I'd hoped to speak to him. He's dead, all right. Shot twice. And it's downright suspicious that you have two exploded shells, one in each gun. Oh, stop it, Marbury. You know very well at times it's customary to have an empty shell beneath a hammer, so a sharp blow won't cause a gun to go off. I'm holding you on suspicion. Take that mask off. I have no intention of taking this mask off. I came here to give some information to the sheriff. Where is he? Well, sir, he's out of town, stranger. And Marbury there is suspecting everyone to shoot the wall. You shut up, Moose. The information I brought here might be connected with the murder of the agent. I told you to remove your mask. You're under arrest. Marbury, you have a way of discouraging anyone who tries to help. I think I'll take my gun. Put those guns down. A little slow, aren't you? You're under arrest. You can't leave here. You're under arrest. You hear me? Yes, I hear you. But I'm leaving just the same. Clam, Moose. Get behind him. Grab him. Take his guns. Don't try it. I'll take your gun, Marbury. I'll pass it through that window until I get away. You'll pay for this. You'll hang for murder. Get out of my way. Look out for the chair. We'll probably meet again. I'll get you. I'll get you for pushing me. I'll get you if it's the last thing I do. That'll make it easy. Come on, sit over there. The lone ranger rode hard to get out of town before Marbury could pick up his gun outside the office and organize a pursuit. It was a little later when the mask man joined Tonto beyond the edge of town. Oh, silver, oh, easy, steady. You've come pretty fast, Kimisabi. What happened? Tonto has been a murder in town. Frank Warren, the Wells Fargo agent, was killed sometime this morning. Oh. What sheriff say? He's out of town. A man named Marbury, head of the vigilance committee, has set himself up as a law. He tried to arrest me. What'd you do? I changed his plans. Why did he want to arrest you? Because there were two used cartridges in my guns. He's ready to charge anyone with murder to solve the Warren case. You tell him about Wilkins brothers? No, I didn't get a chance to tell him anything. We'll wait until the Wells Fargo wagon arrives. We'll tell the garden driver about the Wilkins brothers before they set out toward Gopher Canyon. Ah, me savvy. They'll listen to us. They'll be more likely to pay attention to what we say. That fellow Marbury. Meanwhile, we've got to keep an eye on Marbury. The way he's going, he's likely to hang an innocent man for the murder of Warren. Tonto, I want you to go into town and keep an eye on him and on anyone he jails. And all you can about Frank Warren's murder. Tonto arrived in town a few minutes later. He watched unobtrusively as Ed Marbury forced Clem and Moose to walk ahead of him to jail, where Sam Stevens, a grizzled old deputy, was in charge. Get that door open, Sam. Well, great day you're not going to jail Moose and Clem, are you, Marbury? I said open the door. If you can't do it, I'll get a guard who can. I can open it, all right, but it don't seem to me that you've got evidence enough to jail these two. Maybe you should let things rest until Sheriff Jackson gets back. I'll be the judge of that. A few minutes ago, he was all set to blame Frank's death on a stranger. Yeah. I'm holding these two on suspicion. If I find that masked man, I'll hold him, too. After I've dealt with him for assaulting and battering an officer of the law. You aim to deal with him, Marbury? I do. I sure would like to see that. Doors open. Get in there. All right. All right. It's being shivers. Close the door. You're responsible for those two. See if they don't escape. Oh, they won't escape. Where are you going? The Wells Fargo office. I've got to be sure the freighter's ready for the wagon. Well, Indian, what do you want? Um, me just want prisoner. Well, clear out. Don't hang around the jail. If anyone wants me, Sam, I'll be at Wells Fargo. All right. All right. Oh, don't pay no attention to him, Indian. He's so all-fired important when Sheriff Jackson gets back to town. Why him jail them two, fella? Well, you see, Frank Warren, the Wells Fargo man, was shot. Them fella in jail kill him? No, no. Moose Tanner and Clem Peabody wouldn't kill anyone. Trouble is, Marbury is head of the vigilance committee. And while the sheriff's away, he's making the most of his authority. I reckon he'd like to show the folks here in town that he'd be a good man for sheriff. He's all-fired anxious to solve the murder. Oh, me savvy. Ah, Moose and Clem admit to being near the express office this morning. And they both had a little row with Warren last night. On top of that, Clem was one of the few who knew there was important money being held in the express office for shipment on today's express. What money? It's Marbury's own money. He's been talking for weeks about how much cash he has stored up. I guess he figured he'd over-talk and better get in a safer place. He's shipping it east. Money stolen? Nope. I guess the killer got scared after shooting Warren. Marbury looked to his cash first thing. He made sure it wasn't touched. Now, where, dead fellow, now? The coroner's got the remains at his place down the road. The lone ranger heard Tano's report and went directly to Doc Hathaway, the coroner. Masked. Relax, doctor. I want to talk to you. What do you want? I came to Meredith with information that I considered important. It may have something to do with the death of the man who was in the next room. But, dear. I wanted to talk to Sheriff Jackson. He was away. I tried to talk to Marbury, but he was too busy to listen. Busy trying to accuse me of murder. And that so goes. Marbury. Where did you come from? Get off, mister. I've got you covered this time. I'll recognize your horse. This time, I'm taking you dead or alive. I'll just as soon take you dead. Go ahead. Make a fast move. 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 stood in the coroner's office with his hands at shoulder level. Ed Marbury was just three paces away with a gun drawn. So, I'm under arrest, huh, Marbury? Right. And the charge against me? Murder. The murder of the man in the back row. Now, hold on, Ed. You've already jailed Clem Peabody and Moose Tanner for the shooting of Frank Warren. I'm jailing the masked man, too. Take his guns, Doc. While you're at it, take off his mask. Take it easy, Marbury. Maybe you'd better listen to what he has to say. I'm not interested. He said I saw his guns and there are two dead cartridges in them. You going to help me? No. And I'll do it myself. I'll take his guns. I hope you try. Hey, let go of my arm. Drop the gun. Make him let go, Doc. Help me. Drop the gun, Marbury. You're busting my wrist. Drop my gun. Let go of me. That's better. Oh, my arm. Sit down. There. Now, you'll listen to me whether you want to or not. I came here to tell you that two known highwaymen are camped in Gopher Canyon. Have you ever heard of the Wilkins brothers? I have. I've heard plenty about them. They may be planning to hold up the Wells Fargo Express. Did you hear that? Maybe they know about the chest full of cash you're shipping out today. Maybe they sneaked into town and killed Warren. How could they be in town without me knowing it? They're in Gopher Canyon. Well, what are you going to do about it? What do you expect me to do? Tell the guard on the wagon to look for trouble. Tell him the Wilkins men were seen two miles inside the canyon. And put an extra guard on the wagon. Here's the wagon now. Wells Fargo is just pulling in. I've got to open the office for him. All right. Pick up your gun, Marbury, and get going. What you going to do, Ed? You going to put on extra guard on the wagon? I'll go on that wagon myself. And if you're still around when I get back, I'll settle with you. I may wait for you. Well, there he goes, crossing the street. He's ornery, but he's got a lot of nerve. I may have misjudged him. He sure got steamed up when he found out that Frank Warren had been shot. Oh? I guess it riled him to think that anyone would have nerve enough to try to steal his money. Is that why the Wells Fargo agent was killed? Well, there's no other reason for shooting Warren. Marbury took an iron-bound chest full of cash and securities to the office first thing this morning. Frank checked the contents and gave Marbury a receipt. An hour later, Warren was found in the bullet in his heart. Did anyone hear the shooting? No, it took place in the back room. It's a pretty solid room, and the shot was probably muffled. Do you think either of the men in jail is guilty? Well, I don't know what to think. Do you think I'm guilty? You? No, not you. You see, when you reined up and back at this place, I heard you call your horse by name. Silver, isn't it? Yes. And when you walked in wearing that mask, I had a hunch who you were. When I saw how you handled Marbury without reaching for your guns, I knew I was right. Hathaway, when I came in, you were probing for the bullets that killed Warren. Yes. Sheriff Jackson will want a complete report. But do you mind if I stay here until you've finished? No, not at all. See, the Wilkins brothers always used rifles. I'd like to see whether this man was killed by six gun or rifle shots. It was only one shot. Only one? Oh, see for yourself. Here's a shirt right through the heart. Curious. I had the impression there were two shots. I'll close these shots. No, no, wait. Leave them open until the express leaves. I'd like to watch and make sure Marbury keeps his promise. Well, whatever you say. Well, that's the chest of money he's carrying to the wagon right now. He handles it as if it were heavy. Hey, Tennessee. Give me a hand with this chest. It's heavy. Sure enough, Mr. Marbury. Let me get my shoulder underneath it. Now. She goes. There. It weighs most a ton. What's in it? It's gold. You hear that, driver? Yeah. I'll have to watch sharp on this trip. You'd better be prepared for trouble, Tennessee. Yeah? Now, one might make a bid for that chest. I'll be ready for them. Yeah. Someone's already tried to steal that gold. They got Frank Warren. It may have been the Wilkins brothers. I had word they're nearby. I'd sure like to line my sights on them skunks. If you'll meet the Wilkins boys, you might need an extra gun. So I'm going to ride through Gopher Canyon with you. From inside the coroner's office, the Lone Ranger watched the Wells Fargo wagon leave town, with Ed Marbury riding alongside as an extra guard. The masked man waited a few minutes longer, received a report from the coroner, then joined Tonto on the shady side of the Wells Fargo office. I waited for Dr. Hathaway to remove the bullet that killed Frank Warren. Ah. You see wagon leave? Yes, Tonto, I. I noticed that Marbury went along. That's right. You think maybe better we go, too? I don't think it's necessary. Wilkins brother's still in Canyon. Marbury knows they're there. He'll be on guard. Those brothers can't turn back the express wagon as they did us. You think Wilkins killed Warren? Oh, I doubt it, Tonto. The bullet that was taken from his body was a pistol bullet, a .45 caliber. Oh. The Wilkins men have always used rifles and sawed off shotguns. Oh, that's right. Of course, it's possible that they shot Warren with a six-gun, but I doubt it. Oh. The coroner come this way. Who? The coroner? Yeah. Hey, there. Hey, you, mister. Yes, what is it, Hathaway? I've got something to tell you. It may be interesting. What is it? You left as soon as I removed the bullet from Frank Warren's body. Yes. After that, I probed a little deeper and found out something. You were right. Right? About what? I told you that Warren had been shot only once, but you said you thought he'd been shot twice. Yes. I don't know how you guessed that, but you were right. I was. There was just one bullet hole in his shirt, but I found two bullets in the body. Two? Two. One of those rare cases, it wouldn't happen again in a million times. The second bullet struck him in exactly the same place as the first. The same kind of bullet? Yes, and I thought you'd like to know. Thanks, doctor. I... Uh, what were you going to say? Wait a minute. I know who killed Frank Warren. You do? Hello, come with me. We're going to the jail. We've got to travel fast, and we're going to need some help. The Wells Fargo wagon that entered Gopher Canyon was clattering over the rocky floor with Ed Marbury riding his horse alongside. Just ahead, there was a huge pile of massive boulders. Boulders large enough to conceal men and their horses. It sure is fine, Marbury, to ride along with us. Yeah, it sure is, Tennessee. Reckon you'd feel a lot safer with an extra guard to help you out in case of trouble. I don't know why Marbury's willing to take such risks. Oh, we're carrying his money. Savings of a lifetime. Yeah, but Wells Fargo would be responsible if it was lost. Marbury wouldn't be out nothing. Hey, you, driver. Yeah, Mr. Marbury. Stop the horses. Did he say stop the horses? Yeah, that's what. You better do it. Ho, ho there, ho. Ho now, ho. Easy there. Ho, ho there. Ho, boy. What's the trouble, Marbury? Get your hands up and kick them. You're too good. Hey, what in front of you? Marbury, why are you holding a gun on me? Throw down the shotgun. Here you are. Hey, boys. Hank, Steve. Come on. I got them covered. Of all the double-crossing little guns. Get your hands up. Tennessee, look who's coming. The Wilkins brothers. Come on, boys. We'll make short work of this job. Oh, you're in cahoots with the Wilkins brothers. What's it look like? Ho, ho there, ho. What are you doing here, Marbury? Don't you trust us to do the job? You two were seen in the canyon. Yeah, we know it. We tried to drop the two that saw us, but the range was too far for straight shooting. I came along so there wouldn't be someone else. Now, hold your guns on these two while I unlock the chest and dump out the cast iron. I'll open it up right here on the floor of the wagon. Tennessee, do you hear that? That chest is full of iron. Marbury said it was gold. So there was your scheme, huh, Marbury? You got a receipt for a lot of gold. You're going to make out it was stolen, so Will Spargo will make good the loss. Keep your hands up. We are. You can't get away with this, Marbury. You got no receipt for gold. Oh, yes, I have. I don't believe it. Frank Warren would never have signed a receipt without seeing and appraising the gold and then sealing the box. He signed the receipt. Signed it at the point of my six guns. Then you killed him so he couldn't talk. Boy, you're the one who killed him. I've made my plans mighty careful. Here's the iron, boys. What'll we do with it? You'll have to put it in your saddlebags and carry it away so it won't be found. Now? Now. First, the guard and driver got to be shot. That's what I thought. You might as well drill them right now. Have all the cold-blooded ornery looked down. Let him have it. You take the guard. I'll take the driver. All right. Hey, where'd that shot come from? Hey, look back there. Tennessee, look. Someone's coming. Kill those two. Hurry and get them. Oh, that hit my rifle. Jump him. Right. Look out. Now, get him. Get my rifle to bear. I'll see you. Oh, I'm hit. We got a varmooze. Let me get a shot at him. Not today, partner. Hey. Tennessee and the driver leaped into action and fought desperately, knowing that they were fighting for their lives. They were outnumbered by the Wilkins brothers and Ed Marbury, but they didn't have to fight for long. The Lone Ranger closed in quickly. Oh, easy. Send him in. We'll help you. Tonto was close behind the masked man, and then the fight was ended quickly. It was all over by the time the Lone Ranger and Tonto were joined by Sam, the jailer, the coroner, and Clem and Moose, who had been let out of jail. The Wilkins brothers were made prisoners, and their hands were tied. They sat glum and silent while the doctor examined the wound in Marbury's shoulder. How about Marbury, Doc? Wound? Not serious. I'm downright glad he lived to hang the forment. Moose, you and Clem, as well as Sam and the doctor, are witnesses to the contents of Marbury's chest. Sure enough, huh, Jack? That's right. If you hadn't come here... Marbury, I wouldn't be here if you hadn't told me that you killed Frank Warren. I told you. Yes. When you inspected my guns, you said that two shots had been fired at Warren. You couldn't possibly have known that if you hadn't fired those two shots. What? Not even the coroner realized that there were two until he dug deep. Dr. Hathaway, you and Sam can take charge of these prisoners. Right. The wagon can go on. We'll take them back to Meredith. And throw them in the jail so as I can guard them. If you want volunteers, Sam, me and Moose will help you guide the critters. Before you can handle things, you'll not need Tonto and me. Let's go, Tonto. Easy, steady, because... Come on, Tonto! Come on, Scout! Well, Marbury, it looks like you just outsmarted yourself when you tried to outsmart the Lone Ranger. This is a feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated, created and produced by George W. Trendle and directed by Charles D. Livingston. Tonight's story was written by Fran Stryker. The part of the Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The other employer was played by Brace Beamer. Thanks for being here. Thank you. This is for your memories for me. Thank you. For your memories tomorrow, Max Davis. I'm looking for your memories here. Have a nice day. I'm watching high school one-year-old.
