 Very horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a ha-hey-hay-oh silver! The lone ranger! Before this exciting adventure, a word from our sponsor. General Mills, makers of Cheerios, the oat cereal that's ready to eat, Benny Crocker mixes, and Wheaties, the breakfast of champions, present by special recording, The Lone Ranger! Sometimes you just don't realize what a good buddy one of your friends is until he's away for a while. Maybe he's home from school with a cold or something. You look at his empty desk in class and, gee, you really miss him. Well, here's something realized you can do for him. Take over a big, cheery Benny Crocker yellow cake. The kind that says, hurry back soon, we think you're great. A cake like this, of course, just has to be perfect, and you can be sure it will be when it's made with Benny Crocker's yellow cake mix. Your mom will love to bake it, or you can be a chef and bake it yourself. Any guy can turn out a perfect cake with this mix. All the special things are right in the package. You just add water and two fresh eggs for a perfect cake every time you bake. Cake after cake after cake. It's guaranteed perfect by Benny Crocker of General Mills Minneapolis. And wait till he tastes that first slice. Mmm, a real he-man, every crumb's delectable, Benny Crocker yellow cake. Bake one, it's fun! With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful mask rider of the plains let 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 hoof beats of the great horse Silver. The lone ranger rides again. Come on, silly! Let's go, big fella! I am silly! Fly! As the Saturday afternoon stage rolls to a stop in front of the express office the bar and crew cord out of the cafe to shout their greetings to the driver. But when the door of the stage opened and the dude stepped down every one of the cowboys lost their voice. For a full minute they stared at his clothes, at his great top hat, his grey suit with the flowered waistcoat, at his patent leather shoes. It was Mike Gary, the foreman who broke the silence. Yippee! Look who's come to town! It's Bo Brummel himself! Looks like he's stepped right out of a ballroom early, eh? Great boys, I'll bet you he's come here to teach us how to dance. How about that? Oh, sure! All he needs is a little music. All right, lift up your heels and caper, Bo! I said dance! The bullets kicked up the dust at the dude's feet, but instead of obeying Mike's command he took off his hat and coat and threw them on the ground. If you're any kind of a man instead of the braggart and bully I think you are you'll drop those guns and settle this with your fist. Well, now, maybe I've got me a wildcat by the tail. I'm calling you a coward. Here's my gun belt, you know? You know, Mike? Young Ones ask for it. Let's go! It was a good fight while it lasted. The dude was young and strong and he knew how to handle his fists but there was power in Mike's punches that couldn't be denied. He finally connected with a solid right to the jaw and the dude dropped to the ground. Just then Steve Farnsworth, a lawyer, pushed his way through the crowd. Well, Mike, you really done it this time. That Stafford Norse, old Ben Norse's nephew who inherited the ranch when old Ben died. You know he'd be coming out here to take over after he finished college? Why didn't you tell us he'd be arriving today? Because he didn't let me know. Leap and cactus, Steve. I've knocked out my boss. What do I do now? Pick him up and carry him down to my house. After that, you better start looking for another job. It was not until a month later that Mike left the bar in, however and by that time the foreman had begun to hope Stafford Norse meant to forget their first meeting. But one day Stafford called him into the office at the ranch and said Mike, I've decided to let you go. That's so. Yes, and I want to be perfectly honest with you. I didn't like the way you acted that first day. Neither did I. But that isn't the main reason for letting you go. I've been investigating the way different ranchers have run in the valley and your methods don't measure up to standard. Whose standard? The flying debilits. And what does that mean? Nothing. You don't like Rex Walton, do you? No. He makes a lot of money. Is it by raising cattle or stealing it? You can save it, Mike, but there's anything to do with Walton. He's my friend and he's promised to help me reorganize this outfit. The first step being to get rid of me? Uh, yes. Uh-huh. Well, boss, the boys have had an idea you might not be keeping me on. There's five of them. Kino, Shorty, Pete, Roof, Memphis. They'll want to be movin' on when I do. And this doesn't surprise me. Rex told me they'd be leaving if you did. Send them in now. Pay them off. And here's your money, Mike. I've added an extra six months and no notice. No thanks, boss. My time is all I want. You'd better keep the extra money. You're going to take up with all Walton's fancy ideas. You'll need it. And I wouldn't count too much on his friendship. Another month passed. Malone Ranger and Toto traveling south. Captain Mahill's above 100-mile valley one night. Old Ben Norris had been a friend. They were interested in how his nephew was making out. So after eating, they rolled down to the bar in range on a tour of inspection. What they saw wasn't encouraging. That's the second stretch of fence we've seen that needs repairing. Not half the cattle there were when Old Ben was alive. Maybe young fellas sell them. Bloody of grass. No reason to cut the herd so drastically. I wonder if young Norris is selling out. You make big mistake, Duvette. Bar in, fine ranch. He's an easterner, though. Why don't you take a ride down to the bunkhouse? You know, Mike Gary, have a talk with him, find out what's going on. And that good idea. Or better still, bring you up to the camp. Like a talk with him myself. Ah, me find him. Get him up scout. Come on, Toto. Toto learned that Mike was no longer with the bar in, and he found him in town lounging on the Hotel Veranda. The ex-formant welcomed Toto and his invitation to visit the Lone Rangers camp. He rolled into the hills with him, and the three men sat around the campfire until nearly morning, as Mike described the events of the past few months. The three got rid of me and Kino, and the others left with me. The youngster took on some new hands. Man that Walton recommended. They're a mangy crew. We noticed the fences weren't very good repair, but what about the cattle? There's a few of them. Rustlers? You're sure? I've seen the signs. Fifty head one time, a hundred head another. Stealing the youngster blind. Who is? Any idea? I say it's Walton. Have you tracked any of the cattle to the flying W range? All the tracks all lead to the south, the badlands. No following a trail through them. Mike, in spite of the fact that you don't work for the barn anymore, you still seem to be interested in the ranch. Why? Well, I worked there a long time. Any other reason? I like the boy. I can't help feeling that what's happened is all my fault. We hadn't started out all wrong, and I'm to blame for that. He wouldn't have got so thick with Walton. Where are Kino and Shorty and your other old hands? They're around, working. Not regular. Why haven't you taken another job? I don't know. Why don't you and your old hands get together and stop this rustling? Staff wouldn't... Staff wouldn't have to know anything about it. Get your men together and bring them up here. Tato and I will help. We could guard the barn in ranch as it's never been guarded before. Hey, why don't we do that? I have money. I can buy grub for everybody. You won't have to worry about that. You bet. Sure. That's what we all want to do, same to ranch. Give the youngster a break, get the goods on Walton. But it'd be better if we made our camp one of the canyons on the south side of the valley. If that's where the rustlers have been working. Yeah, it is. Catch them red-handed, ventilate their own rehides. Why should I be lazing around that hotel brandy when there's work to be done? It's a great idea. We'll pick a new campsite tonight. And I'll round up the boys the first thing in the morning. When I explain to them who you and Tato are and that you'll be riding with us, there'll be no holding them. The range land faded into badlands all along the southern end of the valley and beyond the badlands were the 100-mile mountains cut by hundreds of canyons. It was in one of these that the lone ranger made his next camp and the following night, Mike and all the old hens from the bar end gathered around the campfire. The men were glad to be together again, but their eager talk was cut short by Tato. With the lone ranger and Tato riding ahead, the cowboy swept out of the canyon and across the badlands to intercept the rustlers. When the two men who were driving the herd saw the determined band bearing down on them, they tried to escape, but the lone ranger and Tato easily cut off their retreat. A few shots were exchanged, but the rustlers had no desire for a gunfight with the odds against them. They grew rain and raised their hands. All right, you got it. Mike recognized the men. It's Jones and Shannon. Two of the new bar endhands. The boss gives them a job and they pay them back by driving off his steers. Where's all the cattle you've stolen during the past month, Jones? We never drove the cattle past Boulder Creek. You left them there? Yeah. For some more of Walton's coyotes to pick up, huh? Who said anything about Walton? I did. The boss pays your wages, but you take your orders from Walton. What do we do now, mister? We'll hold these two men prisoners for the time being. What about the steers? We'll drive them onto Boulder Creek and leave them there, huh? We want to find out where the rest of the cattle have gone. As Tato says, there are any number of valleys and canyons on the mountain so they can be pastured. We'll take us days to locate the right one. It'll be simpler to let this herd lead us there. I get it. Leave them at Boulder Creek. Wait until Walton's men show up and then drive them on. Follow them. It could be that easy. These men should be taken to our camp. That's your job, Kino. Time up good leading there. Right away, Mike. As for the rest of you, get those steers forward proud. We'll continue our lone ranger adventure in just a moment. When Bill's at bat, the kids all shout, you can't strike that slugger out. He gets a hip because he knows. He's got gold power from Cheerios. Yes, he's got gold power. There he goes. He's feeling his Cheerios. Cheerios. Cheerios. Sure, Cheerios, the cereal that's fun to eat because it's shaped like little letteros. The only ready-to-eat oat cereal with this fresh toasted oat flavor. And listen, every delicious spoonful of Cheerios and milk is real muscle-building food. Each spoonful contains vitamins, minerals, and proteins your body needs. Yes, the good things in a Cheerios breakfast do good things for your body. Help you have healthy nerves, good red blood, strong bones, and muscles. Yes, Cheerios is made to give you real gold power. So every morning, get going and keep going with Cheerios. Then you'll hear people say, He's feeling his Cheerios. Now to continue. The herd was driven to Boulder Creek and Tahoe was left behind to watch it from the cover of a small woods above the creek. The lone ranger and the others returned to their camp to get some sleep. The following morning when Staff Norris discovered that two of his hands and more of his cattle were missing, he rolled over to the flying W. Rex Walton saw him coming and welcomed him from the veranda of the huge ranch house. Good morning, Staff. It isn't a good morning for me. Now, before you decide that, come on in and have a cup of coffee with me. Or perhaps breakfast. I haven't finished mine. Have you had yours? I'll have another cup of coffee. I've been thinking about the situation at the bar in. Well, bye. You lost another 25 or 30 head last night. That's too bad. Not only that, but Jones and Shannon went with them. What? Here, sit down. I'll pour the coffee. Here's Jones and Shannon. They're gone. Staff, I've decided to make you an offer for the bar in. I was a fool to think I could run the ranch myself, even with your help. I was wrong to fire Mike and take on new hands who had no interest in the place. I was all wrong. It isn't too late to do something about it. Such as? Go to Mike and ask him to come back. You do that after the way he's been laughing at you? I deserve to be laughed at. No, don't be hasty. You're worried because... Excuse me, Staff. One of my men just rolled up. Gotta have a little talk with him. I'll be getting out of here. Wait here. I haven't finished. I'll be right back. Hello, Boss. Why are you here? I wanted to tell you we got all the stairs we can handle in that valley, Boss. If you're going to run off any more of the buying stock, we'll have to find another place for them. And that means more men. Well, not many. Two or three. Now, there's a valley to the west almost as well hidden as the one we... We'll not run off any more stock. Oh? You made a deal with young Norris? He's gonna sell? No. But I thought... He's gonna bring Mike Gary back. Not so good. Stubborn young fool. He doesn't have sense enough to quit. Wait a minute. I have an idea. I'll take him to the valley. Boss! He'll never leave it alive. And my story to the sheriff will be simple. Outlaw surprised us. Norris was shot. That's all. With him out of the way, I'll get the bar in. Cheap. As Rex Walton was persuading staff Norris to search the mountains for the rustlers' headquarters, Tottle rolled into the Lone Rangers' camp. Hold your gun, old fella. Well, Tottle, what'd you see? Many cattle. Maybe a thousand head. Maybe more. Far and stuck. We think so, but it's too far to see brand. Yeah, they have to be. We get the sheriff and take him there, mister? I don't think we need the sheriff. Of course not. But we may need more men. How about it, Tottle? There are not many there. Let's go. It better we wait till dark. Take guard by surprise. It's easy. High ridge all round valley. You sure you can lead us back there at night? Tottle, no way. Then we'll ride as soon as it gets dark. It was after midnight when the Lone Ranger, Tottle and the bar-end cowboys reached the ridge that circled the secret valley. There was a full moon, and they could see the great herd of cattle down below. In the middle of the valley, there were men seated around a campfire and horses grazing nearby. Tottle pointed to a narrow opening at one end. There, pass. We can surprise the guard there. The rest should be easy. Mike, once we're inside the valley, we'll split up. Keep to the shadows on either side until we're opposite the campfire. Then we'll close in. Good idea. Don't look to be more than 10 of them. A couple of more riding toward the fire. Even so. Shall we get started? Just a moment. I want to look at those two men who just rode up to the binoculars. The big one looks like Walton. Hey, that'd be lucky if we could round him up with his hired hands. Let's see. Yes, it is Walton. He's holding a gun on the other man. Here, take the glasses, Mike. Sure. I've never seen young Norris. But from the way you've disappeared... It is. It's the boss. Walton's holding a gun on him? Yeah. We gotta get down there fast, mister. Look, as they watched the men around the campfire, they saw young Norris suddenly wheel his horse and ride hard toward the steep slope directly below them. He's trying to get away. Only those coyotes were in range. He's riding in the right direction. Perhaps he thinks he can climb this slope. Maybe. They'll pick him off easy. If he were armed, he could stand them off. Look, he's been hit. No, no. He just jumped off his horse. He's been hit, I tell you. He's starting up the slope, isn't he? Mike, yeah? You and Tutto and the others get down to the entrance of the pass. Easy, silly big fella. Take silver with you, Tutto. And what you do keep a tummy. I'm climbing down to meet Norris. Hurry. All right, come on. Get him up slow. Come, Silver! As the lone ranger started down the steep slope, he caught a glimpse of young Norris dodging from rock to rock as he climbed toward the top. A few seconds later, he had reached the young rancher's side. All right. Shoot. Get it over with. I'll shoot, but not at you. The lone ranger opened fire at the outlaws, climbing the slope. Surprised, they dove for whatever cover they could find. And for a moment, the hillside was silent. Your mask. What do you want? No, I was a friend of your uncle's. How do you happen to be here? Walton persuaded me he could find the restless camp. Oh, you can hit? A couple of times. I'll see what I can do for you when I get the chance. Right now, I must make Walton's men keep their distance. They're coming after us? That one isn't. You'd better get out of here while you can. I can't move. It's only a question of time before... Wait, there's Walton. Did you get him? Put him in the arm. Did you hear what I said? Better forget about me and make your getaway. Neither I nor your other friends are forgetting you, Norris. My other friends? Around here? Mike, Gary and the men who used to work for you. What's happening? Are they coming after us? Your friends are coming after you. I'll lift you up so you can see. Who are those men riding this way? The bar and crew. The bar and crew? Yes. There's Mike. And look, look at Walton running for his horse. He won't get away. No, the others will either. They're coming up. Yes. Now we'll see how badly you're hurt. Oh, I feel fine. I feel wonderful. We'll get our cattle back and those crooks will go to jail. Are you all right, boss? I'm fine, for a man. As a result of that night's work, Walton and his men went to jail. And Staff Norris had almost completely recovered from his wounds. When the bar and crew, the old bar and crew, drove their head down from the hills to the home range. Staff watched them with one hand resting on Mike's shoulder. Tired, boss. I could watch this all day. The mask man said you should take it easy. Whatever happened to him, Mike? He was around today. I'd like to see him. Thank you. You don't have to do that. Not him. Perhaps I should have given him a reward. And he doesn't want rewards. Why say? What with all the excitement? I never told you who he is. He said he was a friend of Uncle Ben. He's your friend, and my friend, and the friend of everyone who deserves his friendship. He's the Lone Ranger. The feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated is produced by Trendle Campbell Muir Incorporated. The part of the Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer, your announcer, Fred Floyd. Listen to the Lone Ranger brought to you by special recording Mondays through Fridays at this same time.