 A fiery horse with a speed of light, the cloud of dust and a hearty high old silver, the lone ranger. With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the masked rider of the planes led the fight for law and order in the early days of the Western United States. Outlaws and confidence men, road agents and rustlers learned to fear his strength and courage. Nowhere in the pages of history can one find a greater champion of justice. It was he more than any other man who brought law and order to the lawless frontier. Return with us now to those thrilling days when the West was young. From out of the past come the thundering hoof beat to the great horse Silver. The lone ranger rides again. Come, children, we're heading for the range country. There's going to be trouble. I hold silver! Clark Sumner sat on a corner of the desk in Dave Gray's office. Gray sat behind the desk and watched the tall, dark man with fear in his eyes. Sumner laughed at him. It pays to be a gentleman of honor, Dave. They say I've had a hundred duels. Now, whenever I kill a man, folks always take my word for it. The other fellow drew first. Why are you telling me this? You heard my proposition. I still say no. And let me tell you what might happen. You wouldn't dare. Why not? I've done it so many times, I'd feel perfectly safe in doing it again. You have a gun in the drawer, but you won't go for it. I know that. I'll shoot you and then I'll take the gun from your desk and fire it once. I'll put it in your hand. When they come running in, I'll tell them how it happened. Well, you'd hang for a- Oh, no. My reputation is too well-known. I called on you to collect some money that you owe me. It was an argument you went for your gun. Clark Sumner always waits for the other man to draw. Why should I? Why should I give you half of my business? Because you'll die if you don't. You mean it too. Of course. I like to laugh, Dave, but I never joke about death. I never take any chances with it either. Now, what's your answer? You win. I thought so. We're partners, eh? We split the profits two ways. That's right. But don't feel too bad about it. Before I finish, Sumner and Gray will be the biggest cattle buyers in Texas. I'm the biggest buyer in Clarksville now. You've got some strong competition. From whom? Young Bill Gordon. He's piling up more capital every day. The ranchers like to deal with him. They know he won't try any of your smart tricks. He hasn't bought more than 500 heads at one time since he opened up. But don't be surprised if he jumps that to 2,000. He can't. Don't argue with me, Dave. I always know what I'm talking about. But you don't have to worry. We'll take care of the competition. He'll need $30,000 to handle 2,000 heads. He's got it. Then how can you stop him from... Just leave it to me. If I can't figure out any other way, there'll be another duel. How can you laugh? You're a rotten cowardly killer. Oh, no. A gentleman of honor, Dave. I've had to take you into my confidence, but keep it to yourself. Clark Sumner is a gentleman of honor. If you've just come up the trail, engine, you can tell me what I want to know. What that? Are there any big herds coming this way? Oh, bar M drive this way. How many heads? Maybe 2,000. Just what I'm looking for. Of course, old Ben Myland's always sold to Gray, but if I met him on the trail with that money, how far has he got, engine? He'll get to Paint River maybe tomorrow. Yeah, that's still 100 miles away. I'd pay him on the spot and he wouldn't have to worry anymore. That ought to be worth enough to make him do business with me. How do you get heard here? Oh, I'd have to hire his crew to bring him on in, but there shouldn't be any trouble about that. Bill, where have you been? I've had dinner waiting for half an hour. I got some news from this engine. Big news. 2,000 head of bar M at Paint River. I'm going out and buying them. You mean carry all that money out on the trail? Yeah, but it's the only way I can get Myland to do business with me. When are you going to learn some sense? Sense, I tell you, Dora. All right, Bill. But why do you have to talk so much about your business? You don't know this engine? He might be working for Outlaws. Oh, no. Hunter Wallace. No offense, engine. I'll admit you look honest, but just the same. Well, you might tell somebody else who isn't. Give him $10, Bill. Get him to promise he won't say a word about this to anybody. How about it, Hunter? No. Hunter not want money. Him not promise. What's that? Get him up, Scout. Did you hear that? He wouldn't promise. Come back here. You'll have to change your plan. Not much. But, Bill, you should... I can take care of myself. That's the only place I can work the deal. I'm hitting the trail for Paint River. Where is Paint River, my friend? What? Oh, dear. I asked where Paint River is. Didn't you say you were going there? That's my business, Strangey. You tend to your own. Good advice, Gordon. You can depend on it. I shall. You wouldn't give your promise because you felt that I should know about it, Tonto. That's right. We'll keep an eye on young Gordon. If he doesn't make the trip, we'll follow him. That would. But did you see anything of Sumner in town? Ah. Tonto see him come down street. That's why Tonto right away passed. Good. He knows we're around. He'll be careful. Him plenty bad fellow. He's been a killer. So far, the law has never been able to touch him, but he isn't going to add to his reputation if we can help it. Ah. You'd better stay in town. If he. What do you think? If Sumner should happen to find out about this trip of Gordon's, Bill would never get to Paint River. Tonto tell him watch out? No, Tonto. We'll make his safety our responsibility. If Sumner tries anything, we'll be ready. Ah. Get back here as fast as you can. The moment either of them makes a move. Simple, Dave. The bar I'm heard is just about to reach Paint River. How do you know that? Some friends of mine got into town today. Buffalo hunters. They passed the herd in the trail. Buffalo hunters? Well, they've been known to hunt buffalo when there weren't any cows around, Russell. I don't like getting mixed up with outlaws. Neither do I. But at times one has to when this happens to be one of the times. You can't be sure Gordon's going down there to buy the herd. Why else would he be going? Maybe just to talk with Mylon. He'll close the deal if he can. If something doesn't stop him. Like a bullet, for instance. Or hold up, man. You know, that's a mighty dangerous trail, Southy. Of course. He swung into the saddle and headed out of town five minutes ago. Where have you been since then? I've gone as fast as I could. All right, I'll follow him. You and the boys follow me. But we don't show ourselves till Silver Springs. Till Silver Springs. Gordon will reach there tomorrow night, and so will I. It's a good place. Plenty far from town. You were set on the time? Sure. 12 o'clock we close in, then curtains for Mr. Gordon. I'll decide later. You can always leave details like that to me. Oh, that's the hombre who's been following me. Strange you wanted to know about Painted Creek. Howdy! Hello. I've got to let him camp here. It's the only water for miles. Wish I'd have camped somewhere. And why are you hot and dusty, hasn't it? He usually is on the trail. Mind if I share your camp? Not if you do your share of the work. I see you've got to file it. Yeah, but we could use more wood. Why don't you chop some while I get some grub? Sure thing. Oh, by the way, where are you heading? The other day you told me to mine my own business. That goes for you, too. But it'd only be friendly to tell you who I am. A lone ranger, maybe. No, Gordon, he wears a mask. Name is Sumner, Clark Sumner. Does that mean anything to you? I guess you know what it means. Uh-huh. Story to get around out here. Sometimes they're true and sometimes they aren't. But it always pays to be careful just in case they are. We'll need more wood. Sure, I'll be getting it. I'll get enough to last us till midnight. Don't you find it sort of uncomfortable trying to sleep with your back against that tree? I'm not trying to sleep. You won't be much good in the trail tomorrow and don't get some rest. It's almost 12 o'clock. My business, Sumner? Sorry. Just struck me funny, that's all. You know, you act like a man who's carrying $100,000 in his pocket. Afraid to shut his eyes. What was that you told me about, uh, stories? You are nervous because of me, are you? Just careful, like you said. Yeah, yeah. You know, lying down the ground this way I can hear hooves, lots of them. I figure we ought to do something about it. You mean that? Well, listen for yourself. Yeah, horses, not cattle. Could be a trail crew. Could be. I didn't notice you got a rifle in the booty of your saddle. I never use one. Whoever this gang is, they can't hurt me. There's enough of them they can. Oh, maybe shoot me up a little, but they won't get any money. Rain up there! Rain up where I'll shoot! Coming straight on, maybe they didn't hear you. I'll let them have it. I got to show them we mean business. I'll take that rifle. Wherever they are, they can't hurt me, and I don't feel like getting mixed up in a gunfight. Drop that rifle. Sure. Got bandanas over their faces, they're all close. Yeah, that's right. They're going to be awful disappointed when they see the insides of my pocket. Yeah, turn them out. Don't get excited, mister. There you are, two bits, do you want it? Grab the other guy, see what he's got. Well, that's all. Here's some bills. Hand them over. There's a hundred there. Take it and get out of here. A hundred ain't enough. That's all I've got. How'd you figure to buy 2,000 head of cattle with a hundred dollars? How'd you find out about... Don't matter how we found out. Must have a money belt under his shirt. No, boss. My wife's got more brains than I have. She taught me how to bring in any money with me. If I pay for any cattle, it'll be with a note. You talk too much. Now they'll make you give them a note. You guessed it, mister. Give them a pencil and paper, Slim. You're local. I'll tell the sheriff. Try to discount a note and you'll land in jail. You won't have no chance to tell the sheriff, Gordon. You're staying with us till we get that money. Here's some paper and a pencil. I'll give it to him. Get him something to write on. Here, what's the matter with this saddle? It suits me, but hurry it up. And make the note for 30,000. You've seen those men before? Ah, big one, top to thunder in town. There's no point in waiting any longer. We're gonna get Bill out of there. I'm right. Nothing he wants to write. Steady silver. You'll take plenty big chance. Silver and I'll be on top of them before they know what's going on. Maybe better me go too. No, Tonto. You mean to be on the trees. You'll not have time to shoot. Neither will I. Wait, Kimusavi. You look. Why? What's the meaning of that? Some nipple gun on outlaw. You may have been mistaken, Tonto. I may not be friends after all. Tonto, sure. Let me see him talking town. And this is a trick to make Gordon believe that Sumner's honest. I'll get as close as I can to the circle of that campfire I'll give Silver his head. That way, maybe you hear him. I hope so. Come on, boy. You can feel his gun sticking in your ribs, can't you? What do you want? Just hold him there. I'll get a horse as ready as Sumner. I don't make any move just yet. Why not? I want to get this Andre's gun. He'll never get away alive. Tell your men to walk by here one by one. Drop their guns in the ground. You heard him, boys. Yeah, we heard him. All right, Slim. Start it off. Good work. You're covered again, Gordon. Get back to writing that note. You want to be pulled, can't you? Oh, I'm Silver! Well, somebody coming. The Masked Man! Jump, Gordon! Open fire! There's a lone ranger! Get him! The curtain falls on the first act of our Lone Ranger drama. Before the next exciting scenes, please permit us to pause for just a few moments. The Lone Ranger and Gordon raced away from Silver Springs. They met Tonto beyond the trees and then continued on across the plain. The outlaws started in pursuit, but even carrying double Silver was more than a match for any of their horses, and they were soon left far behind. Finally, another spring was reached and the Masked Man reigned up. We'll stay here for the rest of the night, Tonto. Get down, Gordon. We'll unsaddle the horses and then get some sleep. Mr. if you're really the Lone Ranger, why'd you leave Sumner back there? That's where he belongs. I don't think so. He may have done some things in the pairs that you don't like, but he risked his life for me tonight. And now that I've got away, those cooks would get even. They might even kill him. It wouldn't surprise me if they were working for him. You can't say that. You must have been close enough to see him stick a gun in the leader's ribs. One of the others knocked him out. I heard his voice as we rode away. Oh, I didn't, and you couldn't have. We won't argue about it. Now, the only question is, what do you want to do? Go on to Painted River or back to Clarksville? I want to help Sumner. And you'll have to do it alone. I don't believe you're the Lone Ranger at all. Oh, you petty foolish. The man's got to stand by his friends. Does you credit to feel that way, but Sumner isn't a friend. He risked his life for me. That trick? It caught in a bin. Gordon, you can meet Men Mylon or go home. Take your choice. I'll go on. The herd is closer than Clarksville. I'll buy the herd and hire Ben's crew. And just as soon as they're working for me, I'll lead them against the outlaws. What about the herd? We'll let them stay with the art till Sumner's rescued. You'll be lucky if there are any cattle left when you get back. It's my money, I'll lose. Well, I'm much obliged for the way you got me clear that gang of crooks, but from now on, I'll manage things in my own way. Just drop me off at Mylon's trail camp and we'll say goodbye. You'll be there by noon tomorrow. You'll have plenty food? Yeah. And we hit trail. Where's the mass man? Him leave for sunrise. You ride with Tonto. Where'd he go? He was back to get Sumner. I'd sure think he'd eat more of them than I do now. No, him not there. You ride with Tonto to trail camp. He know I'm ready to start any time. Here's Count. And if I'd never see you with a mass man again, that'll be too soon. Now, you get up. Sometime maybe you'll think different. Get him up, Count. Make a good proposition to me, mass man. Settle the herd here and I won't have to worry about getting it any further. You won't make any mistake in dealing with Gordon, Ben. He's honest and he'll give you a good price. But for his sake, I'm asking you to refuse. What's that? He's young and headstrong. He'll hire your crew at the same time he buys the herd. Of course, he'll have to. Then just as soon as the men are working for him, he plans to leave the cattle and go after a gang of outlaws. Outlaws? Around here? Yes. I'm convinced they're working for Clark Sumner. That poor cat. Gordon has a different idea about his character. In fact, he thinks the gang is holding Clark a prisoner. Why don't you tell him the truth about him? Because I can't prove a thing. You'll have to let time work things out. And you want me to refuse to sell? Until you get to town. Promise that you'll sell to him there if he travels with you. What's the idea of that? Sumner's out to break, Gordon. You'll think he's bought the herd if he travels with it. You'll do his best to keep it from reaching town. My cattle. You're asking me to step into an awful lot of trouble when I could just as easy avoid it. I never knew you to avoid a fight when you were on the right side. Well, I ain't starting now, my ass man. You figure when those cooks come out in the open, we can round them up, don't you? That's what I'm hoping. Then you can count on me. Good. Whenever they try, we'll be ready for them. Taking advantage of me, Marlon? That's for me to decide. You don't know anything about driving a trail herd. Your men do? I'll sell to you if you travel along with us and get your eyes opened up. Well, as a matter of fact, I had a little job for your crew that can't wait. Could I hire them for 24 hours? You going local? Let them leave the herd to be driven off by wrestlers? Could we keep a few men to stand guard? A few ain't enough on the trail. I'll sell to you in town, but my boys are tending to their job till we get there. Sign of the mask man, the engine? Nope. Just Gordon and Mylon and the trail crew. That's fine. How long before they get here to Silver Springs? Tomorrow night. Tomorrow night, huh? Well, that's when we'll strike. Oh. Let's see. They'll bed the herd down close to the water. Yeah. The crew will make their camp here. Our first job is to stampede the herd. Driving toward the canyon. No, Joe. We drive them into the canyon. The leaders won't be able to stop when they reach the edge. Gordon will lose a thousand head, and that's enough to make him go broke. Sure. But there's no reason why we should let him get back to town alive. I want me to... I'll attend to that. It'd be a pleasure. You figured out where we'll make camp until it's time to go after the cattle? That's easy. There's only one place that's close enough. The woods below the ridge. Yeah, the woods below the ridge. Tell the boys to get this stuff together and clear out of here. It was right here the gang called us, Ben. Hey, hey. I saw whether we camped. It didn't clear out till yesterday, I'd say. What time is it? About 10 o'clock. It was later when they rode up. Close to midnight. You think they might pay us a call tonight? I almost hope they do. It'd give me a chance to get even for what they did to some there. You don't know they did anything? It stands to... Listen, somebody riding this way. Could it be any of the crew? It shouldn't be. No reason for the night riders to come in certainly and all the rest of the boys are sitting around the other fire. You'd better have your gun ready. One of the others, too. I can see who it is now. White horse in a paint. A mess, man, again. Howdy, mister. Are you ready, Ben? Any time you say. Then call your men together. We'll have to move fast. All right, boys, into the saddle. What for? Why are you going? Get in there, that little job you were saying she's about. Get into your saddle. There's no need for questions when you're following the lone ranger. Let's go, man. Get up there! I like this waiting around, Clark. It's all right now. We go after the herd. Yeah. It's just about now that one of the night riders heads into camp for coffee. Leave only one behind. It won't take long to get rid of him. Pass the word along. Hey, that was a shot from over there. Get your horses. Get out of the woods and be on the way. We can't. We're surrounded. Drop to the ground, men. Find some cover and open fire. Hold it. Don't you want us to fight back? There's only one way to get out of this. It's a live nest of surrender. Look what it says. You want to die? That's right, boys. Hold your fire. Where we are out there, we're throwing down our guns. Come and get us. I'm your prisoner, Joe. Get me out of this and I'll do the same for you. Oh, I get it, sure. Rope them. Get them on their horses and take them back to camp. Well, Gordon, you can see they haven't done anything to some there. Yeah. We were just fixing to finish them off when you surprised us. You got here just in time, mask man. What's your bludge? I thought that might be your story. What do you mean? You saved my life. The rest of these men will go to jail. But you may be able to save yourself if you deny that you're a member of the gang. Of course I deny it. And of course they'll back you up. Well, I can't answer for that. We never saw until a few nights ago. It doesn't matter. I'd rather destroy your reputation as a gunman than put you in jail. My reputation? You and I are going to shoot it out. I got no fight with you. You will have. I think you're a coward. Well, I... Then do you understand me? You're supposed to be a gentleman of honor. Are you going to let yourself be called a coward? I got no fight with you. Man, he's admitted he's a coward. That isn't going to save him. Sumner, I'm going to count three. You'd better go for your gun before I've finished or it'll be too late. One. Two. No, mask man, no. I cannot draw you. I admit it. I've admitted I'm a coward. Isn't there enough? Not quite. Well, you admit that you've gone to partnership with Dave Gray? Why, why sure. You have. Well, that's sinned and Dave along the same road. There's nothing wrong with that. Well, you admit that you hired this gang to capture Bill Gordon? I didn't. And after you thought he'd bought Mylon's cattle, you planned to stop him from getting it to town? I didn't have any idea like that at all. I followed Gordon from Clarksville, sure. But that was only because I knew what we's up to. I wanted to get to Mylon first. He don't belong to the gang. They held me a prisoner. They were going to kill me. Shall I say three, Sumner? Huh? I've counted as far as two. When I say three, you'll have to draw. I won't draw. It'll be murder. Tell the truth and I'll let you off. If you don't... Go on. Shoot it out with them. I can't. And I thought you were a tough ombre. Laughing all the time. Why don't you laugh now? Your last chance, Sumner. You can have the truth from me, Mass Man. I'm sorry I ever took orders from the yellow coyote. I thought you might begin to feel that way before long. He's in with Gray. The three of us figured to make Gordon sign a note for all he had in the bank. Hold him prisoner till we collect it from him. It isn't true. Don't you say I'm lying. A lot of things are getting awful clear to me now. You always left yourself an out, didn't you? Like that play act when you stuck the gun on my ribs. That was to make Gordon think you were on his side in case anything went wrong. No. Did he plan to stampede the cattle? I'm sure. Driving down the ravine. And he was going to take care of Gordon, too. Shoot him in the back, I'll bet. That's enough. Take Sumner to the town with the rest of them. I sure will. As for you... Me? Tell the same story to the judge and you may get a lighter sentence. Good enough. I'd rather take a chance on the judge and on this skunk. Dr. Bringsilver, scout Kimosubby. I'm ready. Oh, wait. You got to hear my apologies first, Mass Man. That's all right, Gordon. I should have known better than to argue with you. You thought he risked his life to save yours and you were willing to do the same for him. It was a mistake this time, but it isn't a bad rule to follow. Help your neighbor any chance you get and you won't be sorry. Before the Mass Man gets out of here, I'll just take your gun, Sumner. Why not? He'll never dare use him again. He won't have the chance. Hip! Adios, man. Adios. Come on, Silver. Get him up to the counter. Well, there he goes. Just look at the moon shine on silver. Would you like to call yourself a man of honor, Sumner? Or lift up your head and see a real one. Look. The Lone Ranger. I've just heard as a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporate.