A fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty hi-yo silver. The Lone Ranger. 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 own Silver. It was a dark night and the ground mist lay heavy over the rolling rangeland. The Lone Ranger and Tonto had made their camp near the edge of the canyon. They were about to roll up in their blankets for the night when Silver whinnyed a warning. Silver, hear something, Kimo, something? Yes, someone riding this way. Ah, and him ride plenty fast. Sounds to me as if he's heading straight for the canyon. That's right. He can't see it in this mist. I better try to stop him. Here, Silver. Without waiting to saddle the great horse, the masked man leaped to his back and urged him forward. Come on, Silver. He headed toward the canyon on the long diagonal, and a few seconds later a galloping chestnut loomed up out of the mist. Silver responded to the pressure of the Lone Ranger's right knee and ranged alongside. Bring it up there. Keep away from me. Sorry. The masked man leaned over, took a firm hold on the chestnut's bridle, and pulled him to a stop. Oh, oh, I pulled him. What's the last? Oh, that right. Hey, your mask. Is this a holdup? No, I want you to take a look at where you were going. Ride forward slowly. I don't get it. You will. Go on, boy. Come on, get up. The Lone Ranger still held on to the chestnut's bridle as he rode. When they had covered less than 50 yards, Silver stopped of his own accord. For a moment, the mist drifted away, and the yawning chasm opened before them. The canyon. Yes. I... You saved my life. Your horse probably would have stopped in time. He might have stopped so fast, I'd have gone over his head. There's that possibility, too. Well, thanks. But it might have been good riddance. Say, could you use a partner? I have a partner. Another one, then. I'd like to join up with you. Well, what for? Well, I've been working for a crook. There's no reason why I shouldn't turn crook on my own. Suppose we ride back to my camp and talk it over. That suits me. Come on, sir. Come on, get up. The rider returned to camp with the Lone Ranger. Tonto had built up the campfire, and the three men sat around it. The Lone Ranger studied his visitor's face intently. I don't know what to make of what you just said about working for a crook. See, I know who you are. You do? Yes, you're Rick Merrill. You're in charge of construction for the new Long Valley Railroad. The name's right, but the rest of it's wrong. I'm not in charge of anything anymore. And I still say I've been working for a crook, as big a one as there is in the United States. Lucky Kendall. The man who promoted the railroad? You can call it that if you want to. He got the right of way. He hired me to build it, and he sold the stock. Now that he's done that, he's fired me and all the crew. So what's going to happen? The stock will go down and keep on going down. Kendall will buy it back for practically nothing. Then he'll go ahead and build the railroad with money he raised from the original investors. And it'll belong to him. Lock, stock, and barrel. He's a thief. They may call you an outlaw, but you're an honest man by comparison. How would you like to turn the tables on, Kendall? You mean hold him up? No, I mean beat him at his own game. Me? I'm just a dumb engineer. You're smart enough to realize what Kendall's been up to. There's nothing I can do about it. I believe there is. There are a lot of ranchers in Long Valley. They need that railroad. Need it badly. They won't get it for a year or two, and they can't hurry matters any. Kendall was too smart to sell lemony stock. Ah, they're too close. Widows and orphans back east. That's his specialty. In view of what's happened, those widows and orphans would be glad to get their money back. Oh, sure they would. Well, there's no reason why the ranchers can't get together and buy their stock. Enough to get control of the company. Kendall wouldn't let him, mister. He wouldn't have to know anything about it. Uh, couldn't you get a list of the stockholders? Why, why sure I could do that. Couldn't you go east as a representative of the ranchers and contact them personally? Why, sure. Then once you had bought control as a representative of the majority of the stockholders, you could get a court order to prevent Kendall from touching any of the company's airsets. He could be ousted as president. You could go ahead with the building of the railroad. Oh, no, wait a minute. This is coming too fast for me. It sounds as if it ought to work, though. It will. Ah, but there must be some catch to it. Not if you keep undercover until you've bought all the necessary stock. Money, that's it. Where's all the money coming from? From the ranchers. If they have enough, why didn't they build their railroad in the first place? Simply because they didn't get together soon enough. Kendall got the government franchise ahead of them. That's the company's biggest asset. Well, how long would it take? I mean, really... Every thing can be settled tonight. Tonight? I'm going to take you out to have a talk with Sam Weston at the Flying W. You can start east tomorrow with a check in your pocket. Now, hold on. You wear a mask and yet the ranchers trust you. How come? Sam happens to be an old friend of mine. And this friend of yours here, the Indian, what's his name? Well, me, Tonto. Ah, that's enough. A mask, a white horse, and an Indian called Tonto. I should have guessed. Tonto, I'll bet all this was your friend's plan, wasn't it? Well, him tell ranchers it good idea. It sure is. And I'm proud to have a part in it. Let's go, mister. It was just a month later that Rick Merrill walked into the Crystal City headquarters of the Long Valley Railroad and took over in the name of the stockholders. There was no trouble. Kendall was in the east. And in any case, Rick had a court order and a United States marshal to back him up. He went to work at once. In less than a week, the road was under construction once more. The young engineer was jubilant, but his chief assistant, Andy Carlyle, didn't share his enthusiasm. One afternoon, he walked into Rick's office and sprawled in the chair beside his desk. I've just been over at the main line station, Rick. What about that ship and the rails? They'll be coming through tomorrow. Good, good. We need them, Andy. I was talking to Harry. He tells me there's a private car attached to the express this afternoon. It'll be dropped off here and run onto a siding. Is that so? It must be Kendall's. Ah. Yeah, I thought he'd be showing up sooner or later. So did I. It isn't good, Rick. He doesn't have any legitimate business here now. He's gonna make trouble. He may try, Andy. His strong-arm squad is here already. Pierce and a lot of Pecos cowboys. I've seen them hanging around the cafes. Well? You won't get any protection from the sheriff in this town. I can take care of myself. Well, maybe. But I wish I didn't have to go back to the railhead. Why don't you come with me and set up your office out there? No, I can't, Andy. We'll be in Weston County in a few more days, and there the law will be on our side. I can't leave here. I've got to be close to the bank from the telegraph office. I've got to be sure the supplies keep coming. And how about hiring a few gun hands yourself? No, thanks. Well, all right. I guess there's no use in arguing. That's right, Andy. You get some track laid. You take care, mister. Rick worked late that night. It was after 12 when he left the office. He was just locking the door when he heard a step behind him. Before he could turn, he felt a gun stuck into his ribs. You're coming with us, Merrill. Oh, hello, Pierce. I heard you were in time. Try to get away and ready to shoot. You better believe me. Oh, I believe you. What's one murder more or less to Red? Why, you... Shut up. Get going, Rick. Mind telling me where? Down to the side. The boss wants to talk to me. Rick was marched down to Lucky Kendall's private car. The car was decorated in gold leaf and red plush, and it was lit by a gold-plated chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Pierce nodded to one of the chairs and disappeared in the sleeping compartment at the far end of the coach. Red stood with his back against the door, his gun ready, watching every move that Rick made. At last, the door to the sleeping compartment opened and Lucky appeared. He was followed by Pierce and two other members of his outlaw bodyguard. Hello, Rick. Hello, Lucky. You know, I gave you credit for being smarter. Why? I never pretended to be smart. So you think you've beaten me? Well, you're out of the Long Valley Railroad. We're laying tracks. We have plenty of money in the bank. You haven't got enough. Seems to me we have. No, Rick. Rick, this is a small operation as far as I'm concerned. But I'm going to take a personal interest in it from now on. I'm going to give it my undivided attention. That means that your railroad will never be finished. Thanks for the warning. It's more than a warning. It's a statement of fact. I don't like to crack down on you, Rick. So I'm going to give you a chance to haul freight before the going gets tough. I'll make it worth your while, too. I'll give you $10,000 if you resign your job and take the express east tomorrow. Very generous, Lucky. That means you accept? No. If you weren't so well protected, my answer would be to shut your mouth with my fist. Oh, yeah? As it is, I'll just say good night and be on my way. No, Rick. We start getting tough as of this minute. Grab hold of them, boys. Sure, boys. If not, you, Jigger, and Pedro can hold them. Come on, get up there. They're finally yours, Red. Just my fist, boss. You don't need any more to rearrange his face a little. We'll give you plenty of time. I suggest that you start with his nose. Yeah. As Red put all of his 200 pounds behind a blow that landed high on Rick's cheek, the door burst open, and the shot rang out. The chandelier was shattered, and in the next instant, the coach was plunged into darkness. Someone hit Red and knocked him sprawling. All right, take it. Rick found himself pulled from the grasp of two men who held him and being hurried out of the rear door of the car. The masked man. Hurry down the steps. El Chando, too. How did you know? We've been watching the car. We saw them take you aboard. Easy, silly, big fella. Silver can carry double. Sure, ahead. Here, I'll give you a hand. Yep. Come on, silver. Come on, shut up. As the lone ranger, Rick and Tonto raced away from the siding, a light flared in the private car. Then the rear door burst open, and Kendall stepped out on the platform. There he goes. Let him have it. All right, that's enough. Can't even shoot straight. They were moving awful fast. I'm disappointed in you, Pierce. You should have known that some of his friends followed him from the office. I didn't see anybody. That's what I'm complaining about. Starts us off on the wrong foot. I didn't intend that Rick should be conscious when he left here. I expected him to be in a hospital for at least a week. Now we have to move fast. Move fast and strike hard. 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 and Tonto left Rick at the Long Valley Depot and headed out of town. Rick roused his engineer, ordered him to get up steam in the locomotive, and rounded up all the rifles and ammunition he could find. Let's go, Bill. Right. Hey, what's that show? Kendall's men. They want to stop us. Not tonight. They won't. Give her all she's got, Bill. Yes, sir. An hour later, the engine steamed into the railhead camp and Rick climbed down. Andy! Andy Carlisle! The men poured out of their tents and made a circle around Rick and his assistant. Rick! Where'd you get that cut on your cheek? From one of Kendall's men. Why, I told you that you... Never mind. You didn't tell me half enough. They took me prisoner. Huh? And if our friend the masked man hadn't come along just in time, I'd have been beaten to a pulp. Now, Kendall put his cards on the table. He's gonna try and stop us from completing the road. What? And the only way he can do that is with bullets. That coyote. I figure we'll have a gunfight on our hands before the night's over. How do we stand on rifles and ammunition? We've got some. I bought some more from town. Now, listen, everybody. We're surrounded by hills. Kendall's men will be shooting from the tops of them. They'll have plenty of cover and we won't. So we'd better dig ourselves in. I'm taking it for granted you're ready for a fight. Then get to work. Rick, any idea how many men Kendall has? Your guess is as good as mine, Andy. Plenty. Yeah, we'll have our work cut out for us. All we have to do is hold out until daybreak. Then we'll have reinforcements. Reinforcements? From where? My friend the masked man is taking care of that. The railroad crew prepared their defenses and then they waited for the attack. Not a light showed in the camp, but the moon was full and bathed the hilltops in silver. Occasionally, a coyote howled in the distance. There was no other sound until suddenly 20 rifles belched fire from the ridges. There they are! Fire at will! The crewman's rifles barked in return and the fight was on. The battle continued with savage intensity for half an hour. And then? Our ammunition's getting low, Rick. I know it, Andy. Hadn't we better take it easy? Oh, they'll start closing in if we do. Keep at it, men! Can't hold out much longer, Rick. We don't have to. Did you hear that? What? Look! There's no more shooting from the hilltops. Kendall's gang is clearing out. But why? Because they have to if they want to save their skins. There's the masked man. He's brought the ranchers in their hands. They'll chase those crooks back to Crystal City. At the sight of a band of cowboys racing toward them, Kendall's men headed for town. And an hour later, as dawn was breaking, the lone ranger, Rick, and Sam Weston, the leader of the ranchers, held a conference at the railhead camp. They want to attack in force again, Rick. I don't know, mister. If they do, they'll regret it. That's right. It's between roundups. And every rancher in the valley is detailing half his men to give you protection. What's more, every cowboy will be a deputy. A western county deputy, that is. And if Kendall's crooks try anything the other side of the line, they'll land in jail. The engine has to make trips back and forth from Crystal City. There'll be guards riding it to protect your crew. Yep. And how about you, Rick? You'll have to keep your office in town for a while, won't you? Of course, Sam. Well, whether you like it or not, you're going to have a bodyguard. Any objections? After the night, I should say not. Then go to work and get this road built. Don't you worry about that. We'll finish it in record time. The cowboys from Long Valley patrolled the right-of-way night and day. And though Kendall's men tried to rip up the rail several times, they were always driven off. Five miles of track were laid every day. But late one night, the Lone Ranger and Tonto were riding slowly along the ridge above the railhead camp. There was only one light in the camp and it came from Rick's tent. As the masked man and the Indian watched, they saw a man come to the entrance of the tent and stretch his arms high above his head. The man will work plenty late tonight. It looks more like Andy Carlisle to me. Maybe so. Who's the... Hold, hold, hold. Kimasabi, that rifle shot. Andy's been hit. You listen. Man right way. I'm going after him. You get out of the camp. Come on, still there. The Lone Ranger caught a glimpse of the man who had fired the shot as he turned on a wooded draw. Instead of following him directly, the masked man continued on along the ridge above the draw until he reached the steep slope at the far end. Come on, still there. A word of encouragement from his master and Silver started down it, bracing himself as the ground gave way in miniature landslides, picking his way with care, but never hesitating until the level ground was reached. Then he raced to the cover of the trees at the opening of the draw. Close over. Steady there. Easy. The Lone Ranger waited with his lariat ready. A moment later, Red thundered down the draw. Bring it up. The Lone Ranger snaked out. Red saw it about to settle over him, tried to avoid it, threw his gun, and fired. Just as the Lone Ranger pinned his arms to his sides and he was dragged from his saddle. Hold, still there. Roll back. Easy. Red was only momentarily stunned by his fall. The Lone Ranger tied his hands behind his back, helped him into his saddle once more, and then started back for the railhead camp, leading the gunman's horse. Come on, still there. Rick came out of his tent as the Lone Ranger rode up with his prisoner. Oh, sir. Oh, easy, sir. You got him. Yes. Red, if Andy dies, you'll hang. Have you sent for the doctor? Doctor and the sheriff. We should be here any minute. How is Andy? I don't know, mister. Tano says the doctor will have to operate to get the bullet. Kendall hired you to do this, didn't he, Red? He hired me to get you. I'm just sore. I made a mistake. Man, you heard what he said. Let's bring him up now. If you want to report, Cat, get her off. No, no, no. Sheriff will take care of him. Andy. Andy wanted to talk to you. That's me. He isn't. No. There are no chains. Well, that's something. Now, look out, fellas. Let me tell you. He must have it. Yes. What's the matter? Why you hold side? Oh, Red fired once. It can't be much, but I'd like to get back to our camp. No. No, you're not right till Tonto fix wounds. Whatever you say, you're the doctor. Red was taken to jail and Andy to the hospital in Valley Center, where he hovered between life and death. The Lone Ranger's wound was more serious than he had thought, and he was forced to stay in camp for the next few days. Oh, Tonto! Then one evening, Tonto brought Rick there. Howdy, mister. Hello, Rick. How's Andy? Oh, about the same. How's the work going? You must be close to Valley Center. We'll never get there. What? No. We had bad news this afternoon. We're going to lose the franchise. Well, how can you? Kendall's work, of course. Congress just passed a bill canceling a lot of old franchises. And some of Kendall's henchmen slipped the Long Valley Railroad into the list. I don't understand. Just exactly what does the bill say? Well, they're trying to control the speculation in railroads. As it applies to us, the bill says that if our line isn't in operation by the 20th, we forfeit our franchise. The 20th is tomorrow. That's right. Another day and we could make it. But we've got that bridge to build just outside of Valley Center. The rails are laid up to that point? Yes. Just another 24 hours and we'd make it. The line would be in operation if one train were to be run into Valley Center, wouldn't it? Ah, there's no chance. There may be. I'm telling you, that's a deep ravine. Sometimes, Rick. Sometimes the best solution to a problem is the easiest one. You and I are going to take a ride over to the Flying W. What's the use of that, mister? What can Sam Weston do? All the ranchers and cowboys in the west can't help us now. Well, you can't build a bridge with a six-gun. True enough, Rick. But the pen is mightier than the six-gun. Let's go. The following day, just before noon, Kendall and his men rode through the valley in the direction of Valley Center. As they neared the town, they saw a train drawn up at the brink of the ravine. There was a shack beside the tracks and a crowd of people around the train and the small building. That's as close to Valley Center as that train will ever get, boss. What are those fool's think they're going to do? Oh, lift the engine over the ravine. There's a sign on the building. What's it say? Ah, it says... That's a good one. What's it say? I can't read it. It says Valley Center Depot. Oh, shut up. They can't have a depot there. It's outside the town limits. They won't get away with it. It isn't legal. Huh? I told you to shut up. Ho, ho, ho. Easy, boy. Weston! What kind of a deal are you trying to pull? Deal? Valley, I don't know what you're talking about. We're just celebrating the arrival of the first train in Valley Center. This isn't Valley Center and you can't make it Valley Center by taking a sign on a shack. Of course you're not lucky. It was a little more complicated than that. Shall I tell you how we manage it? It isn't legal. Oh, yes, it is. You know, I used to own this land. Used to? Used to until last night. Then a friend of mine came to me and said, Sam, why don't you give the town some of your land on the east side of the ravine so they'll have a nice site for the new depot? Well, sir, I thought that was such a good idea that I made the offer to the folks who live in town. And they liked it so much, they held a meeting at 3 o'clock this morning. Voted to accept my gift unanimous. So you see, Lucky, it's as legal as can be. This land is part of Valley Center. And the trains arrived on Skitter. Oh, say, Sheriff, come here, will you? Look who's paying us a visit. Well, greetings, Mr. Kendall. Having you here makes our celebration complete. I've been hoping you would set your foot in Weston County, because I've got a little present for you. You what? These handcuffs, you're under arrest. Why, you can't arrest me? It's already been done. I'm happy to say that Andy Carlisle is going to get better. But your man Red is in jail charged with attempted murder. And your charge is an accessory before the fact. Well, maybe I'll go to jail and maybe I won't. You will. You've got more brains than I thought you had, Weston. The train can't get to that town. So you move the town to meet the train. I don't take any credit for that. What you don't realize, Lucky, is that you've been up against a man who's smarter than any crook, who thinks twice as fast because he always thinks straight. You've been up against the Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger? I'll do it. 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. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer. The Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer.
