A fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty high old silver. The Lone Ranger. In the early days of the western United States, gun law ruled the range. The local sheriffs did their best to preserve the peace, but men were quick to lose their tempers and even quicker on the draw. It was during this period of western history that the masked rider of the plains led the fight for justice. Fearless in the face of danger, tireless in the face of a thousand obstacles, he gave no quarter to criminals and in time brought law and order to the frontier. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past can the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse, Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again. Come on, Silver. There's going to be trouble at the Cooley Ranch. One morning, Steve Craig, a deputy sheriff, was riding near old Nate Cooley's ranch house. Suddenly, he noticed a riderless horse grazing at the side of the trail. Well, I'll be... What's Lynn Bishop's horse doing over this way? Where's Lynn? I'm looking into this. Get up there, boy. Get moving. I can't figure what Lynn be doing on Nate's range. The way them fellas hate each other. Get along there. Get up. Well, doggone. Whoa. Whoa there. Whoa. Whoa, boy. Lynn. And shot through the back. Let me see. If he's done for all right. So Nate finally got mad enough to drill him. Well, if he did, he'll pay for it. I'll get the sheriff and bring him back to see things for himself. Hold still there, fella. Yep. Now move your fastest. We're heading for town. Get up there. Get up. Whoa, Silver. Whoa, boy. Whoa, Silver. Whoa, Silver. Tyler, this is why the deputy was riding toward town so fast. Lynn Bishop murdered. This is going to mean trouble, Tyler. Plenty. Trouble. And Nate Cooley will be blamed for it. He would have been blamed no matter where the shooting took place. But with Lynn killed so close to Nate's ranch house, it'll look worse than ever. You look? Him not shot here. He wasn't? You see sign? There where deputy stopped. Yes. You can see where the deputy reined up. He must have been galloping. There's where he mounted again and rode off toward town. Ah. And you see other sign? Wait. Here's the hoof prints of Lynn's horse. Look, there he is. Don't be frightened, old fellow. We didn't harm you, master. Yes, and there was still a third horse here, Tyler. Look, you can see where the third horse and Lynn's mount came this way side by side. Ah. That all you see? What else is there, Kimosabe? Third horse must have been the killer's mount, of course. You look at hoof print horse leave now. Lynn's horse? Uh-huh. I don't see anything about them. Then you look here, where him make print, when him come, this way. Wait, Tyler. Now I see what you mean. Ah. The prints left by Lynn's horse as he came toward here, supposedly with Lynn riding him, are no deeper than these the horse made after Lynn fell to the ground. That's right. But the prints left by the third horse are especially deep. Maybe him big horse. Maybe him carry double. That's it, Toto. It must be. Lynn was shot somewhere else. Then the killer put him across his own saddle and brought him here. That's right. Toto, we're going to find out where the shooting really took place. Here, Silver Scout. We'll back trail until we come to the point where the hoof prints of Lynn's horse show he was carrying a rider. Yep. And if we find that place, we may find evidence pointing to the murderer. Come on, Silver Scout. Here we are, boy. Oh. Oh, there. Oh, Mike. Say there, fella. I'll be needing you soon again. Sheriff. Hey, what's the idea of busting him here like a local steer? Something the matter, Steve? Oh, howdy, Ted. Didn't see you at first. You bet there's something the matter. And as long as you're Lynn's foreman, I reckon you'll be interested. Yeah? Your boss has been killed. Killed? Are you sure of that, Steve? Seen him myself. I found him and his horse over near the rock basins, right close to Nate Cooley's place. Then Nate done it. And it's just what I've been expecting. Steve, what'd you do with Lynn? He's right where I found him. I figured you'd want to go look for yourself. Good. I'll do that. You're going to pick Nate up, Sheriff? I'm going to try if he ain't too far away by now. Steve's got to move on. Round up some fellas for the posse. I'll do that. There's some fellas just outside. Tell him they got a ride after a killer. Right. Nate and that boy of his wasn't satisfied with just rustling our cows. They had to turn killers, too. Now, don't you get to talking hasty, Ted. But I tell you that... It wasn't ever proved that Nate and the boy was rustling. If it had have been, I'd have arrested them. As a matter of fact, it ain't even proved yet that either one of them done this shooting. You mean to say they didn't? No such thing. I figure Nate done it all right. I'm just saying we ain't got proof yet. Then, by heavens, you're better. He'll most likely talk once we catch him. And if he don't, it'll be the worst for him. If it ain't Nate that done it, well, then it must have been his boy. Shucks. I wouldn't suspicion Doug near as soon as I would the old man. No, I don't reckon I would either. Doug's young and husky. He'd a lot sooner do his fighting with fists instead of guns. But Nate's getting old and crippled up. And the honest was, too ready with a shooting iron. We're all set to go, Sheriff. All right, Deputy. You coming, Ted? You bet I am. You see how fast the word's spreading around town, Sheriff. News of a killing orders does that. Well, we're going to look for Nate first, Sheriff. How about heading for his range? I hope we catch the bullcats. Come on, Sheriff. You take the lead. Steady there. Fellas, first we'll go out to Nate's place. If he ain't there, which wouldn't surprise me none, half of you will go with me and half with Steve. We'll spread out and search the country. All right. Let's get going, Sheriff. All right. All righty, men? Yeah, ready, ready. All right, then. Wait. Well, I'll be... It's Doug. Nate's boy. I got something to tell you. You sure got your nerve, Doug. After what your par done, it's the one of you ain't run for cover, too. That's what I want to tell you about, Sheriff. You know where he's hiding out? He ain't hiding. Then he's a bigger fool than I figured it for. He ain't hiding because he didn't do the shooting. Now look here, Doug. Sheriff, don't listen to him. What else would you expect him to say? We can't take your word for it, Doug. But I know he didn't. Yeah? He couldn't have drilled Lynn Bishop because it was me that done it. What? Your confession? You heard me, didn't you? Then get your hands up, you scound. And pronto. I ain't going to make no trouble. Doug, if you killed Lynn, you'll pay for it. But why in blazes did you do it, anyhow? Well, we met up near Buffalo Basin. Just where I found him. Go on, Doug. When we started arguing about the rustling, he's been blaming and pawing me. Sort of lost my head, I reckon. He called us rustlers just once too often. So I draw it and let him have it. You dirty... Keep still, Ted. Then why didn't you lie it out, Doug, instead of giving yourself up? I should run away and leave Potter be blamed, maybe even lynched. That's so. I've done it and I'll take my medicine. So go ahead and throw me in jail if that's what you're a mind to. You just bet I will. Man, a posse won't be needed after all. But thanks for offering to ride just the same. I don't know, Billy. I see that Doug's locked up. And Steve. Yeah? You and Ted go back and bring Lynn into town. This is one killing that's been cleared up in a hurry anyhow. And Doug, just to make sure there won't be no illegal lynching, I'll see that you're hung first thing tomorrow morning. The killing of Lynn Bishop and Doug Cooley's confession were almost the only subjects discussed in town that day. Men gathered in groups to talk over the affair and paid little attention to the silent Indian who in the early afternoon entered town and went from group to group, listening and observing. Later, he rode back to a small, well-hidden camp near Buffalo Basin. Santo, if you've heard the truth, I doubt that Doug is guilty. Hmm. In the first place, he told the sheriff he shot Lynn near Buffalo Basin. That's where Lynn was found, but it isn't where he was shot. That's right. I can't see that he'd have any possible motive for lying about that. There's another point. What's that? From what you heard, Doug told the sheriff that he suddenly lost his head and shot Lynn. But all the signs we read on the trail show that the killing was deliberate. The killer even put Lynn across his saddle and carried him closer to the Cooley Ranch house. And why did Doug Peller say him guilty? Of course, Santo, I'm afraid he believes his father guilty. Oh. He knows better than anyone else the trouble there's been between his father and Lynn Bishop. Ah. And when he heard about the murder, his first thought must have been that his father did it. He confessed to protect Nate. Then maybe lawmen hang wrong, Peller. Now, we can help it, Santo. What we do. We're going to try to find Nate. And if he's guilty, he's the one who should pay. Is that right? We'll try his ranch first. If he isn't there, we'll have to get on his trail as soon as possible. An innocent man's life depends on finding Nate before morning. Here, get him up. Come on, Silver. There's the house, Santo. Ah. There are fours outside. I don't know who it could belong to unless it's Nate. Ah. But we'll soon find out. Here we are, Chimozabi. Oh, Silver. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Come on, Santo. Ah. Get down. If Nate's here, it'll surprise me. Who's there? Open up. Just a minute. Why do you, uh, outlawed? You're Nate Cooley? Sure I am, but... I didn't expect to find you here, Nate. Step back inside. If this is a holdup... It isn't. I want to know why you let your son go to jail for a crime he didn't do. Huh? What's that? You're sitting here safely at home while he's waiting to be hung in the morning. Hung? Doug hung? For the murder of Lynn Bishop. Oh, stranger, that can't be. Why are you making up a story like that? You mean to say you haven't heard of his confession and arrest? I ain't heard no such thing. This long way from town. That's so, Tonto. No one may have thought to ride out here yet. Mister, what's this about? You, you didn't mean it when you said Doug was jailed, did you? Nate, Lynn Bishop was shot this morning, and your son confessed to the crime. But he wouldn't have done a thing like that. I know he wouldn't. Tonto and I also have reason to believe him innocent. You have? We decided Doug confessed to protect you. Me? But I never shot Lynn, neither. But your son must think you did. I did, too, at first. At first? If you were guilty, I doubt that you'd have stayed around here to be picked up by the law. Blamed right, I wouldn't. But I have an even better reason for believing you innocent. Nate, what's in that chest over there? Huh? Why, just some old bridles and some other gear that I didn't want scattered around? I'll see how heavy it is. What in tarnation are you doing? Yes, it's heavy enough. Nate, I want you to pick up that chest and place it on this table. Are you loco? Go ahead. Gosh, mister, I could never lift nothing as heavy as that. Maybe some years back I could, but... I thought so. Oh, now, look here, stranger. Quit this foolishness and tell me what I can do about my boy. I didn't ask you that just to waste time. Now then, I suppose you know that everyone around here is convinced that either you or Doug killed Lynn. Well, he was always saying we were stealing his cows, but I reckon he'd change his mind about that. He had? You see, stranger, I met up with Lynn the other day when I was right in line where his range is alongside Owen. First off, I started telling him he'd better stop the kind of talk he was spreading around about me and the boy. Then he said something that changed things a heap. Yes? He said he'd been doing some investigating on his own, and he as much as admitted he'd run across evidence that pinted a different way. Lynn said that? He did? And what's more, he said just as soon as he found out who the rustler was, he'd tell me first. Then that's it. The rustler learned he'd been discovered and shot Lynn before he could tell what he knew. By golly, you must be right. Which means that when we find who's been stealing Lynn's cattle, we'll find the murderer. Oh, but while we're looking for the skunk, Doug will be hung. Not if you'll do what I tell you to, Nate. Huh? Listen to me. I think I have a way to save your boy. Steve, did you stop to tell Nate what's happened when you went after Lynn? Golly, I didn't, Sheriff. Then maybe you'd better ride out there now. That won't be necessary, Sheriff. What's that, Ted? Because here comes Nate now. We've just seen him get off his horse out in front. That must be him. Come on in, Nate. Look here, Sheriff. What do you mean by jailing my boy? We jailed him for a killing, that's what. You crazy, you just... Huh? Doug never drilled Lynn. And why not? Because I done it. And I'm here to see that you let Doug go free. 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. Nate Cooley has just entered the sheriff's office with the statement that he himself committed the crime for which his son was to be hung. Nate, say that again. Are you deep? I said I shot Lynn Bishop, and you can't hang Doug for what I done. Well, that beats all. It's the first time I ever heard of two fellas each trying to save the other from hanging by being hung himself. Well, Sheriff, what are you standing there doing nothing for? Tell Doug he's free and put me in his place. By thunder, we'll get to the bottom of this. Steve. Yeah? Get Doug and bring him here and keep him covered. I'll do that. Sheriff, what's the idea of telling your deputy to keep Doug covered when you're going to let him go? Blasted, I ain't letting anybody go. But look here. Maybe you're guilty and maybe he ain't. Maybe Doug's guilty and maybe he ain't. With the two of you doing your best to swing, I don't know what's what no more. But there's one thing, sure. I ain't letting either one of you get away till I find out the truth of things. Do you think I'd confess if I didn't do it? Your boy confessed too, didn't he? Yeah, but that's... Why should I believe you before I believe him? Steve, hurry up with that fella. We're coming. Paul, what are you doing here? What I want to know is what you're doing here. What's the idea of telling the sheriff a lie? But I was going to lie. It was me that shot in and I just told the sheriff so. Paul, you don't know what you're talking about. Now listen to me. I drilled in. You couldn't. I did. It was me, I tell you. Oh, is that the way I brung you up? To make out in front of other folks that your pa ain't telling the truth? Well, I... Shut up. Shut up the both of you. Now, if I hear much more of this, I'll go local. But, Doug, gun it shut up. Blasted, shut up. Well, you... And give me your guns. Uh-huh. There you are. Guns and belt both. Now, the two of you, you, Nate, and you, Doug, march ahead of me back to the cells. But, Sheriff, what about in the morning? You mean the hanging, Steve? Sure I do. And what I want to know is, which one will it be? You don't want to know any worse than I do. But now, Blasted, we'll have to wait till we find out which one is telling the truth and which is lying. I'm telling the truth. Now what? Come in. I want to talk to you, Sheriff. Then come in here. I want to see you alone. All right, all right. Steve, you see that them fellas are locked up. I'll handle them, Sheriff. I'll see what this Andre wants. Now, what's your business, mister? You're covered, Sheriff. Close that door. Mash. Close it. Don't pull him, Triggers. You're coming with me. Look here. Hurry up. I don't have any time to lose. Steady, Silver. F with you, Sheriff. You can't get away with it. Yep, but I am. Hi-o, Silver. The masked man carried the sheriff to the spot where Lynn Bishop had been found and then again followed the back trail as he had with Tonto. So Lynn wasn't shot where he was found, stranger. You see what that means, Sheriff? Well, I don't know. Doug told you he shot Lynn at the same place. Your deputy discovered him later. There could have been only one reason for his doing that. Yeah? That reason was that Doug didn't know where Lynn was really shot. Aye, Thunder, you were right. And so Nate's the one that done it after all. You can decide that for yourself when we reach the place Lynn was murdered. How far have we got to go yet? Just to those trees there. What I can see is, why didn't you just tell me all this without drawing a gun on me and making me come along? Would you believe me if I had told you? Well, with that mask and all, I might not have, maybe. You know you wouldn't. What's more, a word of what I told you would have gone around the whole town, and the killer would have been warned. But we've got Nate prisoners. Yes. Here we are, Sheriff. Oh, oh, oh, oh. Come over here, Sheriff. Yeah? What is it? This is the place where Lynn fell from his horse when the shot was fired. Can you make it out? Uh-huh. You can see where Lynn's horse jumped around some when it was scared by the sound of a gun. And there's where Lynn fell. Right. And these prints, do you see them? Sure. They were made by the killer. He dismounted and left his horse over by the trees. He'd probably used the trees for cover when he fired them. Uh-huh. He walked over here to see if Lynn was dead or not. Those are the boot prints you're looking at. Now, here's the prints he made going back to his horse. Sorry. They're the same prints, all right, but twice as deep. Because he was carrying Lynn. He picked Lynn up, carried him almost 30 yards to where he left his horse, threw Lynn across the saddle and rode away, taking Lynn's horse along. You can sure read signs, stranger. Then here's something to think about, Sheriff. Well, what's that? Lynn Bishop was a big man. He weighed close to 200 pounds. He was a husky fellow, all right. But the killer was strong enough to pick Lynn up, walk at least 30 yards, and then lift him to the saddle. You mean... I mean that Nate is not only a small man, but crippled with age besides. Can you imagine him doing this? He couldn't have. Never in a million years. Do you still believe Nate guilty? Stranger, if anything else happens, I'm resigning office. Doug says he done it. Then Nate claims the same. You show me where Doug didn't drill, Bishop, and then you turn right around and prove where Nate didn't either. Mr. What in blazes can I believe? Hear me out, Sheriff, and I think you'll understand. After talking further with the Sheriff, the masked man took him back to the edge of town, and then raced toward the secret camp where Tonto was waiting. Oh, Silver. Oh, boy. You hang long. I did, Tonto. And I persuaded him to follow our plan. Oh, that good. And now, Kimasabi, it's your turn to act. How to do that? Here, Scout. But be careful, Tonto. Don't take unnecessary risks. Oh, me be careful. And remember, no matter how long it takes, I'll be keeping close watch. Now, Tonto, on your way. Get him up, Scout. For several days, nothing happened, and the townspeople, puzzled because the Sheriff had made no progress toward solving the mystery of Lynn Bishop's death, began to ask pointed questions. It is night as our next scene opens, and a group of men are lounging in front of the Sheriff's office. Seems funny to me, Sheriff, you ain't been able to lay the blame on one of them fellas. That's my business. Yeah? I say, to the business of all of us that's paying taxes, so you can get a salary. Leave the Sheriff be, why don't you? Sure, you'd say that, Steve. Being his deputy, I got an idea you'd just assume we wouldn't ask questions. If you fellas knew what you was talking about, it'd be different. That's been a heap of talk. Yeah? Yeah. Some of it has to do with Nick being worth quite a bit of cash. Well, what about it? Some folks been wondering if maybe their cash didn't have a little to do with their not going to trial. Why, you... Now, hold on, Sheriff. I never said it. That's just what some other folks were saying. That'd pay them to keep their mouths shut. And here's another thing, Sheriff. Did you ever stop to think that maybe the both of them was in the right when they confessed? How could that be? What was to stop Nate and the boy both being there when Lynn was killed? There was only one shot fired. If they was together, then they'd both be guilty, just the same. Well, I happen to know only one fellow killed Lynn. And there wasn't nobody else alone, either. If you know that much, Sheriff, it's a doggone pit you don't know more. Hey. What's the matter? Sheriff, there ain't no engines around here, is there? Now what's troubling you? That light in the hills. See it? Looks like the kind of fire redskins sometimes burns for signals. Did you just notice that? Well, it's been burning for ten minutes or more. I never seen it. Wonder what it means. Nothing, most likely. Now, like I was saying, Sheriff... What's that, somebody yelling? That's down near the cafe. Never there's been a hold-up. Listen, he's heading this way. Here's his horse. Come on, boy. There he is. On a white horse. Is that a mask he's wearing? A crook. Sheriff, get boned. There's the signal. The signal. What's that he said, Sheriff? You never mind. Get your horses. And don't give me an argument. Every last hombre here is riding. Come on. What's it all about, Sheriff? There ain't no time for answering questions. Not at the end to follow that horse the way it's traveling. We gotta follow her. All set? Then come on. Get up there. Get up there. Come on. Get up there. Silver, we have to meet Tonto. Come on, old fellow. Who's heading beyond the bishop place? Looks like it's a heading called Thrill Hills. If you don't catch up to him soon, my horse will give out. Keep on riding. The first man to quit will wish he hadn't. Get up there. Get up there. Get up there. Come on. Get up there. There's Tonto waiting for us, Silver. Come on, boy. Take the lead, Tonto. Get him up. Not too fast, Tonto. We'll lose the posse. Come on, Silver. Sheriff, we're in blazes. There's a masked fellow taking us. And who's the armed? He's joined him. Save your breath for riding. Get along. Hey, look ahead. See something? Cattlemen headed toward the pass. Who'll be moving cattle this time of night? Couldn't be nobody but rustlers. It must be. And they're stealing critters from off the bishop ring. And the masked fellow and his part are heading right for him. Get moving, man. Sheriff, is the masked fellow one of the gang? You warning him off? Not by a blame sight. Him and the engine are leading us to the cruise. And they've seen us. Come on. Get up there. Get along there. Or your girls and be ready to shoot. There, Sheriff. Get up there. Come on. Get up there. Throw down your guns. The first one of you crooks to fire a shot will be blasted out of his saddle. They ain't going to put up no fight. The masked man and his pilot have got him covered already. You got them all, friend? Everyone, Sheriff. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Sheriff, make the masked man let us go. We can move our own cattle, can't we? Well, I'll be doggone. It's Ted Dawson and Lynn's former. Listen, Sheriff. You listen, Ted. You're under arrest. You and all the crooks with you. But blasted these cows from our outfits. You can't... What were you taking the cows to the pass for? Well, are we... And by what right, I'd like to know. We're taking them to market. At night? Well, I... It don't matter whether you're taking them to sell or not. It's rustling just the same. Ted, you know as well as I do that not a critter can be legally sold from off this place till Lynn's estate is settled. I didn't know. And don't give me that kind of a story, because I told you myself. Sheriff, I bet it was Ted and his gang were stealing Lynn's critters all the time while Nate and Doug were getting the blame. It was. That's why I'm arresting the hull pack for rustling and murder. What? I proved to the sheriff, and he can show you that proof, that neither Nate nor his son could have killed Lynn. What's more, Nate can testify that Lynn most likely found out who you fellas was. And there was no other reason for his killing than to keep him from talking. You ain't gonna charge us all with murder, are you, Sheriff? You just bet I am. But you can't. Shut up, Lester. It was you, Ted. You can't make us angry. I'll fix your blabbing mouth. Oh, you smash my hand. Your hand's all right. I just shot your gun away to keep you from another killing. But how'd the masked fella get on to these crooks, Sheriff? By knowing how to read sign, and using his head stood a jumping to conclusions. The killer's trail showed that Nate couldn't have killed Lynn, and it wasn't likely Doug did either. What's more, the trail showed the killer rode out from Lynn Bishop's ranch. Yeah. So when the masked fella found out that Lynn was likely killed by the rustler, and when he seen the killer coming from Lynn's own ranch, he had his red-skinned pard, watched Ted, and the rest of them till he seen they was gonna steal more, Chris. Then it was a red-skin at the signal. Uh-huh. The masked fella's seen it and running us along. Golly, the stranger sure used his head to figure this out. That's right. He put two and two together and got a whole gang of rustlers. Hail, silver! Hail, silver! What you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of The Lone Ranger, Incorporated.
