A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty hi-oh silver, the Lone Ranger. The mask rider of the plains realized that the coming of the railroad would be a great event for the western United States. Without thought of reward, he helped the engineers overcome the obstacles that stood in their way, the greed of men and the ruthlessness of nature. With his aid, the great project was completed, and the west took another step toward civilization. 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! We're heading for Big Ben! Tunnel's waiting for us! Are you, Silver? Jim Webster was in charge of the construction camp not far from the town of Big Ben. Our story opens an hour before daybreak. Bart Fleming enters the overseer's tent, and grasping Jim's shoulder, shakes him roughly. Wake up, Jim. Wake up, will you? Wake up, fella! What's the matter? This is daybreak yet. Let me sleep a little longer, will you? You can't sleep. Get up, I tell you. There's a Dickens of a time going on. What's the matter? What's the matter? Are you awake? Sure I'm awake. Tell me, Bart, what's the trouble? Trouble aplenty. You know last night one of the boys was took sick? Yeah, sort of a fever. That's right. There's three more sick tonight. And no telling how many more before this day is over. What's the cause of it? Don't ask me. You come and talk to those men. Where's that medicine kit? It's gone. Gone? What in blazes could have happened? I tried to find it. I was in here an hour ago with a lantern looking for it. It's just disappeared. Bart, what do you make of that? Who take the medicine kit? No one's allowed to touch it but you and me. I know that. Well, put your boots on and come with me. The boys are over near the cook tent. I'll be with you in just a second. Yeah. Confound it. I figured we'd have the tracks as far as Big Ben when I rode in town to make my next report. You'll have a hard time doing it with four men on the sick list. Any more get laid up, we can't do it. There. I'm ready. Won't bother to lace the boots. Let's go have a look at those men. They're groaning something awful. Fevious, you say? Yeah. Just like that one last night. Well, how's he? Well, we'll look at the others first. I'll tell you about Slim Prindle later. Tell me now. Well, if you've got to have it, Slim died. What? It's the truth. But I didn't think it was as bad as that. It is. You know what this job means, Bart. I know. I know. The big chance of our lives if we finish that contract on time. And if we don't finish the contract on time, you know what that means. The company loses it. And there's plenty of important money in the East that would like to see our company lose it. I know. But our main concern right now is the men in that tent. Do any of the others know about it? Not yet. They'll know about it at breakfast time, though. Can't keep it from them. Lucky thing all three of the boys was in the same tent. No one else in there? No. Here we are. I... You keep back. An engine! What are you doing here? Me. Tonto. I don't give a hang who you are. Get away from those men. They're ailing. Me know that. Them plenty sick. How'd you get here? Where are you from? What are you doing there? Me fix a man. Maybe you're the one who fixed them already. Come on, engine. Get. Tonto, not go. Tonto here, fellas groan. Are they? Are they dead? No. Them not dead. Well, they're quiet now. That's right. Them sleep. Where'd you come from? That's not matter. You get plenty cold water. What'd you do for them men? Me give them engine medicine. Make them well soon. Do you mean to say you just passed by here and heard them groaning? Not right. Do you know what's wrong with them? Them got fever. What caused that fever? Maybe bad water. Bad water? They've had the same water we've been drinking, ain't they? Me not know that. You get cold water now. Keep cold cloth on head. Bart, I like the Indian style. He seems to know what he's talking about. We're going to do what he says. One man's dead already. And if the Indian can save these three and any others that get sick, then... Hold on, Jim. He said the water they've been drinking was bad. If that's the case, every man in camp's likely to come down with a fever. We'll find out about that later on. The main thing now is to get these men fixed up. You tell us what to do, Tonto, and we'll do it. The following day, Jim Webster rode into the town of Green Flats, where the western office of the construction company was located. He made his report to Phoenix Gibbons. So you're trying to excuse yourself for not carrying the tracks to Big Ben by saying your men was toxic? There's more to it than that, Mr. Gibbons. One of them died. I don't care how many men die. The tracks should be in Big Ben by today. They ain't there. We're behind schedule. That's bad, mighty bad. But count on it, Gibbons. You ought to be glad we've got the men back on their feet and able to go to work. There's something mighty funny about those men. What do you mean? I'll tell you what I mean. Someone drew water from a spring that everyone knew was unsafe for drinking. It seems to me if you're in charge of the work, you ought to check the water and food they get. I can't be every place at once. The water they generally use is all right. But someone filled the canteens from that bad spring. Trying to pass the blame. I suppose the next thing you'll tell me is that someone done it a purpose just to hamper your work. I wouldn't be surprised at that either. It would mean a lot to that Maryland company to get the job. And that's what they'll do if we don't finish on time. Yes, that's just what they'll do. And if we don't finish on time, you're the one to blame. I'll take the blame. You'll take the blame, all right. But what's more, if we fail, you don't draw a set of pay for no part of the job. You've got nothing to say about that. We'll see about that, mister. Now, get out of here. Don't you want to hear the rest of it? Not interested. The only thing I'm interested in is seeing this job done on schedule. Excuses, alibis, explanations. They don't mean a thing to me. The fact stands that the job ain't done, we lose the contract. All right. But I thought you might be interested in knowing that my suspicions were backed up by the fact that someone stole my medicine kit. I told you I'm not interested. You might be if you knew we owe an Indian some money. Indian? You heard me. He said he'd hang around the camp till I got back. I didn't tell him I'd pay him, but I owe him plenty. He knew what was wrong with those men and how to cure it. You mean to say they had fever and they're cured already? No, they're not cured, but they're better and they're going to get well. The important thing is, no more have taken sick. We got no allowance for Indians to go around trying to cure a fever. I should have known better than to expect this office to pay for a thing like that. But it's all right. I'll pay it out of my own pocket and gladly. I'll be here next week. You see that that job goes along on schedule. I'm doing the best any man can do. Mr. Webb? Oh, yes, Miss Molly. Come here a minute. I want to speak to you. Why, yes. Yes, sure. Maybe I shouldn't say anything about it. But there's something I think you ought to know. Oh, what's that? Working here in this office, I hear and see quite a bit. I'll bet you do. I don't see how you get along with Gibbons, though. He's a hard man to work for. I'll admit that. Has anything gone wrong on the job? Four of the men came down with fever and one of them died. And Indian cured the other three and told us what the trouble was. I... Is there any chance that someone might have made them sick on purpose? Why do you ask that? Is there? I had a suspicion there might be. Someone stole my medicine kit. Jim, watch out for things. Well, what do you mean, Miss Molly? Well, I can't tell you any more than that. Howdy, Molly. Well, Webster, what are you doing here? I might ask the same thing of you, Snead. What are you doing here in town? You're supposed to be back on the job. Yeah? Well, you ain't nothing to say about me no more. What do you mean? I'm taking orders from Gibbons himself from now on. Savvy, he sent for me. I'm going in to see him right now. Why is that man? Snead's about the ugliest fellow we have on the job. Didn't you know he was coming to town today? No. Mr. Gibbons sent word to him direct. Why didn't he send word to me? I don't know, Jim. But just remember what I told you. I can't say any more than that. Just watch out for yourself. There's something mighty funny going on. Thanks. I'll be on the lookout. I hope I'll see you next time I come to town, Miss Molly. I hope so, too. Goodbye, Jim. Goodbye. If I could only tell him more. If I could only find out more. Molly. Step in here. Yes, Mr. Gibbons. Molly. Open the safe and get $100 from Mr. Snead. $100? You heard me do as you told. Very well. It ain't my fault, Gibbons, that the fever idea fell through. A doggone idiot. No excuses, Snead. No excuses. I thought we might set the job back by following your suggestion. But we didn't. All right. We'll try another scheme. You're really going to give me that $100? $100 now. The rest of what I promised you when you fulfill your part of the agreement. That job has to be fixed or it'll fall down. It's set back some now. Not far enough. Jim Webster could make up the work he's lost so far. We've got to keep him from fulfilling the contract. There's $5,000 in it. Just who's paying all that cash? It's none of your business, but I'll tell you. It's the company that'll get the contract if the company I represent falls down. So you're sort of double-crossing the folks, eh? A man has to make a living where he can these days. Now listen. No matter how hard those men work, they can't work without supplies. Of course not. All right. Supplies are coming through next week on the work train. Yeah? The supplies are supposed to meet the working crew at Big Bend Creek. Sure, I know that. The boys are supposed to get the tracks there this week. Now wait there till the trains come up to meet them. The train will have the supplies to build the bridge and carry the tracks beyond the creek. That's it. The way I figure, they'll have the tracks to the creek by Monday night. The train should pass rock centers a night. You can get there by hard riding. Yeah. I can make it easy if the train don't come too early. The train's due at midnight. Maybe half an hour early or late. You can't tell about that. But it won't be there before 11. It has to cross a bridge there. Savvy? Go on, boss. I'm a-listenin'. If something happens to that bridge, the supplies won't reach Big Bend. Gibbons, that's all you gotta tell me. I'll get started as soon as I get that cash. Jim Webster rode away from Green Flats in the direction of the camp. His mind filled with what Gibbons had said and the warning Molly had given him. Tonto met him on the trail. Tonto. Hey! Go there. Oh, Scott. Oh. You. You're Tonto. That's right. You go back now. Tellers get well. Indian, you save the lives of a lot of men. I don't know how many others would have been given that bad water if you hadn't found out about it. That's all right. It isn't all right until I show my appreciation. I don't have much with me, but I... Tonto not want money. Where are you going now? Me go meet friends. Well, look here. I wish you'd come back to the camp with me. You'll not need Tonto now. But we might. There's likely to be a lot more trouble before this job is done. You seem to have a way of helping us out. I'll give you a job. What other trouble? I don't know. That's what bothers me. I have half a suspicion that Gibbons, the man in the office in town, is double-crossing our company. Why you think that? Well, nothing I can point out in particular, but I'd like to have you sort of keep an eye on a fellow named Sneed. Oh. Tonto no, Sneed. You do? Huh. Him, Peller, make footprint near bad water. Is that so? Why didn't you tell me? Me not know if him make mistake. Or... That fits in with other things. By thunder, I'll bet Sneed and Gibbons are working against us. There's been a lot of small things, and seeing Sneed in that office... Look here, Tonto. Uh-huh. You've got to come back. I'll tell you what you do. You wait right here. Sneed should be riding back along this way pretty soon. Uh-huh. You wait here till he comes by. Let him get past. Then come after him and keep an eye on him. Maybe you can get proof he's the one that's been plotting against us. Other man helped Tonto. What other man? Oh. You mean my friend Bart? No. Oh. Tonto friend. Who? Tonto, go get him. Tonto, help you. Get him up. Scout. The curtain falls on the first act of our thrilling Lone Ranger drama. Before the next exciting scenes, please permit us to pause for just a few moments. Now to continue our story. Tonto rode to meet the Lone Ranger and told him about Jim Webster's suspicions and the sudden attack of fever in the camp. It was nearly dark when he'd finished, and the masked man said... Tonto, from what you tell me, it seems almost certain that this man Gibbons is planning to keep the railroad crew from carrying out their contract on time. And that's what Webster fella think. And you, Tonto? Tonto thinks same. But how can we learn the truth? There's a hundred things they could do. That's right. Perhaps Snead won't even be involved. We might try and trail him and find that we were watching the wrong man. Tonto got ID. What is it? One fella knows scheme. Who? Fella who makes schemes. Gibbons? Oh. Maybe we go make him talk, huh? That's the only thing. We can make him talk. Maybe we try. Here, Silver. You go? Yes. Wait. What's the matter, Tonto? Maybe you wait here. Let Tonto go alone. What do you mean? Tonto make him talk. No, Tonto. Yet, in the case of this sort, that man is scheming to destroy the railroad. They plan to have men given bad water. He deserves almost anything. Yep. That's right. And that's why Tonto won't go alone. That's just why you're not going alone. Come on, Silver. Get him out of the skull. Pull, pull there, Silver. Ranger? Where's Felix Gibbons now? Huh? Oh, Gibbons. You mean Mr. Gibbons? Yes. I reckon he'll be to bed. It's most nine o'clock, and he goes to bed mighty early. He ain't given to what he calls wasting time in the cafe. Now, take me. I can't see if it's any wasted time for a man to... Where does he live? Huh? Oh, live. Why, he hunted all over town till he got the cheapest room he could find. Boards with more ash well. Even then he beat her down two bucks a week. Where's the house? Now, you go straight ahead to the last house in the row. Then keep going. It's just beyond set off by itself from the others. Thanks. Hey, leaping catfish. Is that a mask on your face? I can't see so good in the dark. Yes, it's a mask. Oh! Oh! Get over. Go! I'm glad we left the horses back a little. Perhaps we can talk to Mrs. Ashwell before we see Gibbons. And you tell her not to be afraid. Yes. You'll have to stay with her, Tana. Hmm. We want to see you. Well, what? Mask? Mrs. Ashwell, don't be afraid of me. I want to speak to Mr. Gibbons. He's gone to bed. I know, but I must see him anyway. But I don't... Please don't be afraid of me. I think that man's a crook. I want to find out. Well, what are you... Never mind. Where's his room? End of the hall. But you see here... I want to talk to you. Now, I can't stand for this sort of thing. Stay with it, Tana. Plastic, this ain't the most high-handed proceeding. I ain't ever seen nothing like it. All right, Gibbons, wake up. Hey, hey. See here. What's the idea of you? Hold your feet. Hey, who's in here? Strike a light. What'd you haul me out of bed for? To ask you where Sneed went, what he's going to do. I don't know what you... Hey, now look here. Gibbons, I'm not here to waste time. I want to know what you're going to do to try and smash that railroad. Who squealed? I mean... You were going to tell me. Get on your feet. Let go of my arm. You hurt my arm. I'll do more than hurt if you don't talk. I'm not going to beat around the bush. I have little use for a man who tries to kill men with fever. If Sneed squealed... I mean... I mean, I don't know nothing. You can't do this to me. I'll have the law on you. Now, I'm the law. If it meant it, Sneed might have squealed. Where is Sneed? Now, wait. Let's talk it over. Where is Sneed? What's he doing? Oh, Gordon, I'll talk. I'll talk. Don't hurt me. Quick. Red Rock. The midnight train. The rest of it. Talk fast. Come on, Tonto. We've got the rioters never before. Come on, Tonto. Oh, my son. He jumped from the porch to the sand. Get him up. Get down. How are you? Like a streak of white flame, the great horse, Silver, raced across the open country toward the bridge at Red Rock. Tonto and Scout were quickly out-distant, but the Indian kept riding hard. Get him up, Scout. Maybe him need us at Red Rock. Get him up. The Lone Ranger was far ahead. In spite of the rough ground where on this step would have meant death for both horse and rider, Silver's hoops beat out a savage tattoo. The white mane and tail of the great horse lashed straight out. The brim of the masked man's hat flattened back against the high crown as the wind pressed hard against it. Come on, old boy. There's barely time. And that train's early. We won't make it. Stretch out, Silver. Come on, big fellow. High, old Silver. Then, in the distance, there was a sound that gave ominous warnings. The train was running ahead of schedule. There's a train, Silver. And right now, the killer's cutting away the supports of that bridge. Faster, Silver. Faster. Faster, old boy. It was a hopeless race, but the Lone Ranger would not admit defeat. With each breath, he urged Silver to greater speed. He saw the headlight of the train. He knew there was no chance to stop it before it reached that bridge. He saw it thunder close. Saw the bridge in bold relief in the train's lights. And then... Hope for these two men, Tutter. That right. Sneed, the killer, has escaped. There's only one small thing for which we can be thankful. What, that? This train held only supplies. No passengers. Oh. Fireman and the engineer. We won't have much of a case against Gibbons, either. No way to prove that he hired Sneed to wreck this train. What we do for Webster, fella. I don't know how anything can be done, Tutter. Supplies on this train can't be carried overland to Big Bend where they're needed. That's right. What's that? There's someone alive under the wreckage. Oh. This way. Help me. Where are you? Here. I got catched. Wait. We'll get you out of there. Give me a hand, Tutter. We'll have a little bit of stuff lifted up. Who are you? Sneed. Sneed? The man who's to blame for this. I got what was coming to me. That dirty cuss Gibbons hired someone to shoot me so that I couldn't collect. We get you out. You tonto. That right. Who is this? Me cum. Thundercloud. Good friend. That right. Me see bad man cut bridge. Me shoot. You weren't sent to kill him? No. Me camp near. Tribe near. Wait. We've got to get Sneed out of here. Lift the wreckage. He's fainting. I mean. There. I don't think he's badly hurt. The bullet just grazed his leg. He was lucky not to have been killed. That's plenty bad. Do what you can to fix his wound and injure his tonto. There's no earthly way to get all these supplies to Big Ben now. Perhaps we can. Wait. What matter? Sneed thought that he was fired at by someone sent by Gibbons. Huh? He might try to involve Gibbons by telling everything they get revenge. That right. If he would do that, then it could be proved that Gibbons purposely delayed the work. He might save that contract when the job isn't finished on schedule. You good friend. See, Thundercloud? You've done a great service to the white people. You say not get load to Big Ben? We can't do that. Maybe Chief Thundercloud helped. On Monday, Jim Webster and his loyal crew had laid the tracks as far as Big Ben. But the supply train had not arrived yet. Tuesday morning, the men found themselves without any work to do. Oh, they set and still would drive me local. Me too, Bart. We might be able to do some work with the rails on the other side of the river if we could get the bridge built. Everything we need for the bridge is on that blamed supply train. Who's that coming? Why, it's Molly. I mean Miss Molly. Who's she, Jim? The girl in Gibbons' office. She hinted that I should be on guard. That's why I asked the Indian to help, but I guess he fell down on us. What's she coming here for? Well, don't ask me. Whoa, whatever. Whoa, whoa. Miss Molly. Oh, Jim. Jim, have you heard the news? What news? The supply train fell through the bridge at Red Rock. Wrecked? Yes, and Gibbons hired Sneed to do it. Molly, are you dead sure of that? Of course I am. I just came from town. A masked man rode in with Sneed. He was wounded. I'm going to town to get my hands on his greasy neck. You can't. He's in jail. Jail? He thought Gibbons hired someone to shoot him, and he told everything to the sheriff. You see, he thought he was dying. Oh. And was he? No. Too darn bad. But he thought he was, so he told everything. He showed the money Gibbons paid him, and the promise Gibbons wrote to pay him more. What about Gibbons? Well, he's in jail too. The masked man rode away. He said that he was coming here, but he had someplace else to go first. Someone coming there? That's him. That's his white horse. But the main thing is, the job won't be done, can't be done. Not on schedule. Oh, oh, there's someone. Oh, boy. Masked by a thunder. Jim. Which is Jim Webster? Right here. Webster? All the girls here. He told you about Gibbons and Sneed. But who are you? A friend of Tonto's. And a friend of ours. Where is Tonto? He and some Indians who helped us are bringing your supplies so you can go on with your work. What? Supplies? But how can they? The train's wrecked. Yes, but a lot of those supplies were railroad ties. Seasoned timbers for the bridge. Things that float in water. You mean to say that... The Indians made rafts. Loaded the iron and steel on them. A river that flows past red rock circles and comes back past here. The water's high and the Indians knew it. Look upstream. There's the rafts. Our supplies. Jim, there comes everything you need. It's a miracle. A miracle, I tell you. Now we're all set. And them snakes are in jail. Boys, get going. Meet those rafts. The Indians on board. Them will be glad to help you. We're going to finish the job. Boys, let's get working. Wait. Wait. He's gone. Jim, the Lone Ranger doesn't wait for thanks. The Lone Ranger? Well, Miss Molly, he sure worked a miracle. That's all I can say. It'll be a miracle if you'll forget to call me Miss Molly. My real friends call me Molly. Molly. Remember, old boy, there's trouble in the town of Osage. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger, Incorporated.
