A fiery horse of the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty hi-oh silver, the Lone Ranger. The western United States, might made right. Even the sheriffs, elected to preserve law and order, accepted the bribes of outlaws. One man, however, the masked rider of the plains, gave no quarter in the fight for justice. Criminals learned to fear his name, just as the honest settlers learned to honor it. Return with us once more down the trail of adventure to those thrilling days of yesteryear. The Lone Ranger rides again. When old Leif Catlett, owner of the Box B, died, he willed the ranch to his son Larry. But within a week, Larry was accused of murder and fled from the district. Jake Brimmer, Larry's uncle, took over the management of the ranch, and we see him now in the cafe at River City. Sitting at a table with the sheriff, Walt Travis. The sheriff is speaking. Look here, Jake. You've been stolen me off long enough. Yeah? You ain't forgetting that I'm still holding the paper you signed, confessing to the shooting of Bill Sweeney, are you? Blast you. I shouldn't never have signed it. I don't recollect that you had much choice. I've seen you shoot Bill, but I let you get away with it because you promised me half of the Box B. You'll get it when you do your part. I'd done what I could. I told everybody I seen Larry do the killing. It wasn't my fault he got away. You should have caught and hung him. And I would have, too, if he hadn't heard of scheming. Well, all I gotta say is this. When you hang my nephew so as a ranch is mine without no question, then you'll get what I promised you. But you won't get nothing before. And what if I show folks a confession of yours? You ain't bluffing me. Yeah? You do that, you won't get nothing, no matter what happens. Maybe. Our bargain goes just as we said. When the ranch is legally mine, I turn over half to you and you give me back that paper. I sure wish I savvied where Larry is hiding out. You don't wish it no more than I do. He's been gone for almost three months now. It's a funny thing we ain't heard nothing about him. He most likely cleared out for good. I don't know. Larry was a fighting fool. He weren't the kind to give up easy. Uh-huh. But if he does come around, you're the hombre that's got to deal with him. He won't get away from me another time. I'll jump at your house of it. I think I seen him just then. Seen who? Larry Catley, your nephew. You're a loco. If it weren't him, it was someone just like him. Where is he? He stuck his head inside the door, looked around quick, then backed out again. Come on, let's find out. If it's him, I'll sure jail him this time. Hooray. I don't think he's seen us. But I don't want him to get away. He can't be furrowed. Too dark to see. If that ain't him, I'll eat my Stetson. It is sure enough. Hey, there. Stop in the name of the law. What the? Heist your hands. We got you covered. Jake. And the sheriff. And right where you are. You rotten crooks. We got you this time. And we got you good. You poor cats was in the cafe? Yep. And I seen you look in. Oh, in blazes did I miss you. I come gunning for you, but I was beginning to think you wasn't in town. Then this is the time you got fooled. But you ain't jailing me. Sheriff, he's drawn. I'll teach him. Oh, my shoulder. Blast you, Sheriff. Why didn't you kill the coyote for resisting arrest? You're sure two of a kind. Just a pair of low-down killers. That'll be enough from you. Come along. Where jailing your four folks get here and start to ask him too many questions. Hurry it up. And then I want to talk to you, Sheriff. I got another scheme to get rid of this fellow. Larry Catlett was promptly thrown in jail and held there without being permitted to speak to anyone in town. Then just after dark the next evening, while he sat on a crude bench in his cell, he was startled by a low call. Larry. Huh? Who's that? I want to speak to you. Well, I'll be doggone. Didn't you expect to see me, Larry? I did, sure enough. I'll never look for you to get here this soon. Not when I rode here just as soon as we found you and disappeared. But I come by train. Silver and white fellow are fast horses. They sure must be to get here from the Panamets in this time. Why didn't you tell us you were coming to River City, Larry? Well, it was a scheme I had. Yes? You see, when I met up with you fellas, it didn't take me long to have a pretty good notion of who you was. I knew that. Well, so I figured if I told you about my being framed, you would savvy where I'd headed for when I let out. Go on. Well, I wanted to get here first as I could have time to drill the skunks that framed me before you got here. That was a foolish thing to do. Uh-huh. Well, the way things turned out, I reckon maybe it was. But my idea was that if they killed me, then you'd show up to see what they did, and then they'd get what was coming to them. But instead, they jailed you. I heard about it when we got to town. I reckon I weren't as smart as I figured I was. Your shoulder bother you? It ain't nothing but a flesh wound. All that's bothering me now is what Jake and the sheriff is planning. You heard something? All I heard was my uncle telling the sheriff he had a notion how to get rid of me. I see. But I can't savvy what it can be. The lesson is to make their story foolproof, so I won't have no chance when the trial comes. I wonder that... I think there's somebody coming. Most likely the sheriff, because he wants to make sure I ain't up to nothing. I'll leave now, but I'll see you again. All right, mister. What are you doing over by that there window? Uh, nothing. You needn't be looking over them bars. You ain't got the strength to break them. Who's that fellow with you? Just another outlaw. You'll have plenty of time to get acquainted. I'm putting them in the same cell with you. I'll get you for this, Sheriff. All right, Clegg. Deal with you. I'll blast you. Oh, yeah. Now, just lock up again and let the two of you sit in there till the judge gets here. You'll frame me. You ain't got nothing on me. I got a plenty on you, Clegg. If you're a lawman, I'd rather be a crook. Well, as far as anyone can prove, you are a crook. This time you're going to find you framed the wrong arm, Sheriff. Did the dirty skunk frame you too, Clegg? He did that, and I'll find... He still. Any more of that kind of talking, I'll put you on bread and water till you tame down. Sheriff, I'm going back to the office, and I don't want to hear no fuss out of either one of you. The two men were silent until the Sheriff returned to his office and the door slammed behind him. Then Larry said, What are you in for? The Sheriff claims he's seen me rustling bar W. critters. Yeah? And I wasn't even near there. I'll bet the Sheriff knows where them cows went, and I'll bet he's got his share of them. That sounds like him. What's he got on you? Shooks, he's got me framed to affair you well. I'm supposed to have shot Bill Sweeney. You're Larry Catlett? Mm-hmm. Well, I'll be doggoned. You're in the worst fix than I am. Yeah, I reckon so. If I ever get out of here... You want to get out bad? Well, I'd be local if I didn't, wouldn't I? When Jake Brimmer and the Sheriff start telling their lying stories in court, I won't have no more chance than a rabbit in a stampede. How much nerve you got, kid? Huh? Nerve enough to try and break jail? Oh, swell chance of that. You think it can't be done? I know darn well it can. Just take a look at the way we're barred in here. Is the Sheriff anywhere around? No, but... What do you think of these? Why, you got keys there. That Sheriff ain't half so smart as he figures. How'd you get them? Easiest thing I ever done. I just helped myself two miles when I was in the Sheriff's office before he brung me back here. But when a deputy went out for coffee and left his coat hanging behind the door... And you got the keys out of his coat? That's just what I did. But how in blazes did you work it? Shucks. While the Sheriff was holding his gun on me, I backed up again the door. And as soon as you weren't looking, I slipped the keys in my pocket. By golly, that was blame smart. The Sheriff was all through searching me, so he never thought to look again. Then let's get it going before the deputy finds his keys are gone. Yeah, we better. There ain't but one way out of here. We'll have to make a break for it right through the Sheriff's office. Uh-huh. And Jake Bremmer's in there with him. But I reckon they'll be so all fired surprised to see us we'll be able to make it all right. Come on. Wait till I see which key fits. Can't you find the right one? Here it is. Careful how you open that door. Yeah. Father, close it again. Don't make no more noise than you have to. When we get to the office, I'll go first and open the outside door. That suits me. Quiet now. Go further without being seen. You all ready? Yeah. Then let's go. What the? A jailbreak. Where's the... Hurry, Craig. Open the door. Hold up or I'll shoot. Craig, what are you waiting for? Hold on, Craig. I'll get him. What are you doing, Craig? I'll show you. Now, you tricked me. You ain't breaking jail at all. Get away from that door. Have a hold of him. I can't. He's dodging away from me. Then stay on the one side so I can shoot him. Go on and shoot. Drill him, Sheriff. Just a second. You've done this just to get rid of me. You wanted me to break jail so you'd have a reason for shooting me. You missed him, Sheriff. I won't this time. I'm going... Oh, my hand. A masked man. Where'd he come from? Come on, Larry. I'm taking you away from me. I'm coming. Stop him, Sheriff. Craig, do something. I can't use my gun hand. I ain't got no gun. I'll shoot the first one of you that tries to follow us. Go after him, you fellas. I ain't going out there. Me neither. By thunder, Sheriff, you messed things up again. Now, look here, Jake. Of all the thick-headed fools I ever seen, you and Craig there take first prize. We couldn't help him getting away. How was we to know that masked fellow'd show up? That's right, Jake. There wasn't nothing we could do. You can't never do nothing right. That was the third chance you had to get Larry, and you missed every time. What do you mean, the third chance? When we first framed him, when you arrested him yesterday, and he went for his gun, and just now. Listen, if you don't like the way I do things, you can do your own dirty work. I ought. I ought that. But just remember one thing, Jake Brimmer. I'm still holding that paper you signed, and I ain't taking no careless talk from you. You're just a pair of no good idiots. And from now on, I ain't depending on nobody but myself. The curtain falls on the first act of our thrilling Lone Ranger drama. Now, before the next exciting scenes, please permit us to pause for just a few moments. Now to continue our story. Larry Catlett was framed by his uncle Jake Brimmer and the sheriff for the murder of Bill Sweeney. Jake wished to gain possession of the ranch Larry had recently inherited. And when Larry fled the district, he took over its management. When Larry returned, he was arrested, then tricked into an attempted jailbreak. The Lone Ranger saved the young man before he could be shot down, however. As our second act opens, we see Larry and the masked man as they arrive at the small, well-concealed camp where the Lone Ranger's faithful Indian companion, Tonto, has been waiting. Jump down, Larry. Golly, I still can't hardly believe I got out of that alive. You're safe now. Well, howdy, Tonto. Tonto, glad to see you. Tonto, Jake and the sheriff nearly succeeded in killing Larry just now. Oh, that's heath bad. It might have been. How'd you happen to be there, friend? When you told me they planned to get rid of you, I doubted they'd wait for your trial. Yeah? I wasn't sure until tonight that you'd been telling me the truth, Larry. Well, you didn't have no way of checking up on my story, I reckon. But now I'm convinced. And Tonto believed Larry. I knew that if they had framed you, they wouldn't let you tell your story in court unless they had to. I stayed near the jail to see if you'd be safer tonight. And when I heard the shot, I came as fast as I could. You sure didn't waste no time going into action. And we can't waste time now. Larry, did you say Jake signed a confession that the sheriff was holding? Yep. I overheard them when they were scheming the whole thing. That's how I learned enough to clear out of here before they got me. I've heard Jake and the sheriff don't get on well together. They sure don't. But Jake don't like the sheriff because he's a fear to what the sheriff will do with that confession. And the sheriff suspicions that Jake will hold on to his share of the ranch. I think I have a plan. You ain't figuring trying to find that paper, are you? Not that. If you was, it's most likely it wouldn't do you any good. The sheriff wouldn't keep a thing like that where it could be found easy. I have something else in mind. Hmm, what you do. Call your horse, Kemosabe. Here, white fellow. Tonto, all three of us will have to act tonight. You're the boss, friend. From now on, I'll do just what you say. Good. First, Tonto will have to make a long ride. Uncle, Uncle, do that. And you and I, Larry, are going to call on Jake Brimmer while he's asleep. Later that same night, the great horse, Silver, carried both Larry and the masked man to the Box B Ranch. The cowboys were fast asleep in their bunkhouse. And Jake Brimmer, whose bedroom was in a wing of the large central building, was equally unaware of the Lone Ranger's approach. A rising wind helped to cover the sound of their arrival. Oh, oh, Silver. It ain't likely anybody will hear us stopping this far back. No. Stay here, Silver. Come, Larry. The best way to get in the house is by the side door. You'll have a key? Uh-huh. The one I always had. And there ain't no bar on that door. Then that's the one we'll use. Besides, it's on the far side of the house from where the Chinese cook sleeps. Lee Toy could hear a feather drop. We don't want anyone to wake up. Here we are. Be careful of those steps. We'll be inside in a second. Blast this wind. You know the house, Larry. Take me to Jake's room. He's most likely sleeping where Paul used to. Wait till I close this door. Careful. You see that open door? Yes. That's the room I mean. We'll have to go in there. Come. Fast asleep. And the hair are his clothes. Oh, a monster. Yeah. Jeff. I'll fix things. Larry. What is that? Jake was just talking to me sleep, Larry. He sure gave me a scare. Hurry up. Let's get out of here. One moment. Are you ready to go? I have everything I need. Now to get back to camp. We'll be back there soon, Larry. Who's that? It sounded like the wind caught a hole to a door and slammed it shut. Maybe that doggone chink's been prowling around the house. Blast it. Where's that lamp? Oh. There it is. Maybe somebody's been in this room. Somebody's been handling my clothes. And my gun's gone. Blast the sneak thief of this teal. A man shooting iron. Hey, Leetoy. The blame chink. Come here. There's a crook somewhere that's around. Come on. The Lone Ranger and Larry raced away from the Box B Ranch and returned to their camp, where they spent the remainder of the night before going on with their plan the next day. Early the following evening, we see the sheriff and his confederate, Clegg, as they rein in their horses in front of the sheriff's home on the edge of town. Oh, oh, steady. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Steady, boy. Oh, boy. Steady, boy. Oh, boy. You coming in, Clegg? Yeah. There's some things I wanted to talk over with you, I think. Hey, look at my door. Somebody's forced it. Well, I'll be. And look inside. Come on. What in blazes? Some fellow sure tore this place up. There's papers all over the floor. And the drawer's been pulled out of your table. A blasted skunk. Who in Thunder would do a thing like this? Somebody must have been looking for cash. I ain't got no cash here. He was looking for something. They even pulled all the stuff off of them shelves. They didn't bother to put nothing back, neither. I can't see no reason for it. Maybe it was somebody didn't know you never keep cash here. I don't know. Let's have a look around. Maybe we can find out if anything's missing. Yeah. Golly, things are sure in a mess. Hmm. What's this? Huh? It's a bandana. And it ain't mine, either. A bandana? Whoever was here dropped it. They must have. Say, ain't I seen this somewhere as before? There's initials on it. J.B. Hmm. By golly, I know this belongs to. Yeah? Jake Brimmer. You sure of that? You just bet I'm sure. Them's his initials, ain't they? And I recollect him wearing it. But what did he... The polecat? I'll fix him for this. What'll he be doing here? I can tell you. I'll bet my saddle he was looking for that confession he signed. You think he was? You're blame right. If he could get that back, then there wouldn't be no way for me to make him pay off when he gets the box B. Maybe you're right. There ain't no doubt about it. The sneaking coyote. You think he found it? Not by a darn sight. Him looking here proves he ain't got no notion where it's hid. Yeah? I sure wouldn't be fool enough to put a thing like that where it could be found that easy. Where is it at? That's my business. But this don't surprise me none. Ever since Larry got away again, Jake's been shooting off his mouth about the way I'm handling things. He had a plenty to say. So he must have figured if he could find that paper, he could do without me. Uh-huh. Come on. Where are you going? I'm going to the box B. See, Jake? Yeah, doggone right I am. And I'm going to tell him plenty. Steady there. If he thinks he can pull a stunt like this and get away with it, he's making a bad mistake. And when I get through telling him off, he won't be in no hurry to make another one like it. Come on. Get up there. Get up. Come on. Come on. Get up. The sheriff and Clegg, convinced that Jake was trying to double-cross them, raced their horses to the box B red. It was dark by the time they approached the house, and suddenly they were startled by the sound of three sudden shots. Why, the ordinary scum-poo-poo. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. He sure has fired us. And they blamed me or got us. He came from the house. He sure did. Draw your gun. If Jake thinks he can get us, we'll shoot it out right now. And he'll bust right in the door. Yeah. Don't give him no time to get set for us. He looks like he knows he dropped that bandana. The figures were out to get him. Lasted him. Come on. You dirty double-crosser. Fire at us, will you? What the... Up with your hands. What are you doing? I ought to shoot you down where you stand. Hi, you loco. I'll teach you to shoot at us. But I never fired them shots. What's that? Don't try to lie out of it. But I never. I just now heard them. I ain't got no more notion than you have where they come from. They came from right here. They couldn't. My gun was stolen. Huh? That's a fact. Somebody broke in last night and took it while I was sleeping. You figure we'll believe that. But I tell you... What's that on the table by the window? Right here's a gun. And it's a gun Jake always carries. What in blazes? That gun wasn't there for. This is the gun, all right. Just take a look. It's still hot and there's three bullets gone. No. No, it can't be. Why, you blasted rat. Take that. Don't hit me. Here's another. I don't. Let me take a push at him, Sheriff. Get away. I've been framed. Yeah? And I suppose you'll say it wasn't you that broke in my house today. Did what? You tried to find the paper you signed confessing to the murder of Bill Sweeney. But you didn't get it, did you? It ain't so. Then how come you dropped your bandana there? I suppose you say that was stolen from him, too. But it was. Honest, it was. I ain't swallowing your lies, Jake. But I tell you... I'll tell you just what happened. You remember dropping that bandana, and so you figured I'd be coming out here. Then you tried to kill me when we drove up. Honest, Sheriff, I hate you. Don't talk to me. You didn't like it because we let Larry get away alive. It was your idea to get that confession back and then keep the box B for yourself. I tell you, I never thought no such thing. I ought to turn you in for killing Sweeney. You can't do that. It's what you've got coming. If you do, how are you going to explain not seeing anything about it before? I can tell him you just now wrote it. Listen to me. I ain't crossed you. If it weren't that I was still figuring on collecting my half of the ranch, I'd drill you right now. You'll get it just as soon as Larry's done for. Your turn right, I'll get... The last man! And the U.S. Marshal. And Larry. Drop those guns. You're under arrest. The whole three of you. You ain't arresting me. Oh, my hand. Drop your gun, Sheriff. There it is. I heard everything that was said. We were just outside that window. Now, wait. Listen, now. We were... While we were riding here, Tonto told me how you framed Larry. And you said just enough to prove it. And it was the Lone Ranger's scheme that made you talk. The Lone Ranger? Yeah. It was him that took Jake's gun and bandana. And it was his idea to make it look as though Jake had searched your place, Sheriff. Yeah. You mean Jake weren't there at all? Yeah, blame fool. A Toto wasn't. Then it was all a trick. We figured you'd ride out here for a showdown, Sheriff. When we seen you come with a masked man, fired three times. Then slipped the gun back in through that window. Well, I'll be... You'll be jailed. That's what you'll be. You have all the evidence you need, Marshal. They said a plenty. And Larry's free to take over the ranch? He sure is. Good. Can't this be fixed up some way? I'll give you cash. The only way this can be fixed is by your hanging, Jake. No, wait. I can tell you... You're all going to hang for the killing of Bill Sweeney. And the Sheriff and Clegg are going to be jailed for helping you frame Larry. And it was the Lone Ranger that cleared everything up. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.
