 A fiery horse with a speed of light, the cloud of dust and a hearty high old silver, the lone ranger. A fiery horse with a speed of light, the cloud of dust and a hearty high old silver, the pioneers faced many dangers on the wagon trails that led to the west and even after they reached their destination outlaws and hostile Indians attacked their homes. It was a country where only the brave could survive but in all the new territory no one could match the strength and courage of the masked rider of the plains. 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 of yesteryear. From out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver. The lone ranger rides again. It was shortly after the civil war that a wagon train stopped for the night in the Hollow near Traveler Spring. The forest rose on all sides and although the leaders knew it was dangerous not to camp in the open, two dry camps on the previous nights had forced them to take the chance. At twelve o'clock all was quiet in the Hollow when suddenly a little girl began to sing. In the forest, less than a hundred yards from the wagons, two men crouched at the foot of a great pine. Do you hear that? Yeah. There's women and children in the train. We shouldn't be here. But we are. It's no use talking about it now. Hanging out without laws. Renegades are joined up with Indians to attack our own people. We got no call to be proud anymore. Our homes have burned. Our money's gone. You want Francis Blake of White Acres Hall out here? Randolph Oakland, don't meet a thing in this country. My father used to say that honor was the dearest possession a man could have. So did mine. He's dead now and his son still likes to eat. That's why we're here and you know it, Frank. We were hungry. Well, she stopped. It's time she was asleep. I hope she never wakes up. Don't. First the Indians and then us. The orders are not to leave anyone alive. It isn't too late. We could run down through the trees and warn them. They don't have a chance and we get shot in the back for trying it. We'd save our self-respect. You're only twenty, Frank. Do you want to die yet? I... No. Neither do I. But I can't go through with it either. I can't shoot women and children in cold blood. I... Quiet. It's Larkinsley. I don't care now. Quiet and listen to me. What? That kid's singing. It got me too. We won't fire a shot. But afterwards... There won't be any afterwards for us. As soon as the fighting starts, we'll cut back to our horses and ride away. Turn her back and... There's nothing we can do to help those immigrants. You have to make yourself admitted, Frank. At least it won't be our bullets that killed them. The Indians. All right, boys. Follow us. Keep them in the bank and shoot over the injured kids. Go to them. Come on, Frank. They'll all be wiped out. Don't look. Do I have to drag you? No. I've seen enough. But I'll never forget it as long as I live. The years passed. And Frank Blake changed from a narrative well boy into a settled rancher with a wife and family. It was on the evening of Bob Blake's 21st birthday that Randy Oakman led a wagon train into Meadville, the nearest town, and rode out to the ranch. The two old friends made a tour of the place after supper. And as they headed back for the corral, their thoughts returned to the past. Have you ever been able to forget it, Randy? Forget what? That night at Traveler's Spring. Oh, I don't recall much about it. You don't? I've been in too many Indian fights. They're all mixed up in my mind. That was the only time you were on the wrong side. You've led 100 wagon trains across the plane since then. Anyway, 100. Maybe that's why you don't remember. You've sort of made up for it. But we didn't do anything, Frank. We ran away, didn't we? We ran away all right, but not soon enough. I can still see those Indians charging down on the wagons, and I can still hear that little girl singing. You've got enough troubles right here in this range without borrowing from the past. I know it. You know, if you don't get some rain pretty soon, your crick's going to dry up to nothing. I need a cloudburst. Have you figured ahead at all? Sure. If we don't get rain, I'm going to have to sell my stock for whatever it'll bring and move someplace else. Where? Maybe that valley where you're heading now. You could do worse. I'm serious. It's only a question of days before I'll have to get rid of the cattle. You'll be in Meadville for a week. Who can tell? Maybe we'll be traveling with you when you go. I don't wish any hard luck, partner, but that suits me fine. There's Mary on the front porch. How are you, honey? She's a nice kid. As nice as they come. My boy isn't so bad either. Oh, Bob's all right. Just all right. He reminds me of you and me 25 years ago. He won't have to go through what we went through. I guess every father hopes that for his boy. Why should he? That's a hard question. Bob's 21 now. You know, I think he feels he's sort of tied down in the ranch. If he's discouraged, it's only the drought. He don't like it anymore than I do. It's a drought, all right. Home always seems kind of dry to a 21-year-old. I wouldn't be surprised if he kicked over the traces. Bob? That's who we were talking about, wasn't it? Mary, stop that. What's the matter with you? Stop it, Mary. Have you gone local? That's what the other little girl was singing. Don't you like the way I sing, Pa? I don't want you to ever sing that song again. Bob sings it? That's different. Because he's older? I, yes. Because he's older. We'll all be 13 in a couple of weeks. Can I? Frank, I'm coming inside right away. What is it, Em? Randy, would you mind staying out there with Mary? We won't be long. Stay as long as you want. Mary, here's my best girl. You're my best fella, too. Now, what is it, Em? He was going out the back way. He was going without even saying goodbye. You mean Bob was going to town? No, I don't. I mean a way for good. He's in here. You've got to talk with him, Frank. I can't think of anything to say. But where? What's got into him? Nothing's got into me, Pa. There's something must have. I want to be on my own, that's all. You had a chance to be when you were young. Why can't I? I didn't ask for that chance. I didn't want it. Well, it did you a lot of good anyway. How do you know anything about that? Well, must have. You're wrong. I can't tell you how wrong. And let me find out for myself. But there's no sense to it. If you're tired of me, Bill, I can understand that. You're right about it, too. You might as well face facts and sell out. We could pack our things and go west with Andy's train. I've been thinking about it, Em. It could be managed. To hear Randy talk, Pleasant Valley's a wonderful place, Bob. Wonderful for you two, maybe, but not for me. Wherever I go, I've got to go alone. Oh, it's hard to explain, but I've got to. That's why I didn't even want to say goodbye. This won't be forever, you know. I'll come back and we may not be here. I'll find you wherever you are. Maybe. Your father's always hoped that you'd work by his side, Bob. And then after he was gone, that you'd carry on. There's plenty of time for that later on. Now, won't you just let me kiss you and say goodbye, Mom? Well, if that's the way you wanted, son. I do. Goodbye. God bless you. Pa, here's a hundred dollars. I don't want any money. I've got a little. Whatever I need, I'll earn for myself. Just shake hands? Sure thing, Bob. Goodbye. Oh, Frank. It's all right, Em. He'll travel west, so will we. You've made up your mind. Yes. There'll be more chance to keep in track of him out there. I suppose so. Lance takes Frank out. I'll have a lot of packing to do in the next few days. We'll both be busy. That ought to help a lot. Two weeks later and over 100 miles to the west, a masked man and an Indian had made their camp in a grove of cottonwoods near Eagle Point. They'd just finished their evening meal when the noise of a horse crashing through the underbrush brought them both to their feet. Somebody right this way. Yes, tunnel. There are plenty of alcohol around here. They don't ride straight for a campfire. We won't need our guns. Hey, boy. Howdy. Welcome. You're masked. And that's an Indian with you. You have nothing to be afraid of. Won't you have something to eat? No thanks. I just as soon as. He's slipping from his saddle. Quick, don't try to catch him. I'll take it. Put a blanket over those spruce vowels. He's got him plenty weak. That's the idea. Hungry, maybe. There. What do you think, Kimosabe? How to not know. I'm afraid he's almost done for. Still sleep. Yes, but he's a lot stronger than he was last night. He need food plenty bad, then. We can leave him here and ride up to the point as we plan. Maybe see outlaw camp from here there, huh? Yes, somewhere around. Come on, silver. Get him up, Scott. The east auto, it looks like smoke. Ah, their camp. I wonder if it's Mike Ward. Him cross border month go. Come this way. We've got to get closer and find out how many men there are. Why him make camp here? Yeah, there's a wagon trail to the south. He may be planning a hold up. That bad. No soldier around here. Most of the trains can protect themselves. They have any warning? Ah, will you ride to camp now? No, wait. What do you see? That slope, the side of the camp. There's a rider heading up the trail. Ah, time to see him. His horse. From here it looks just like the one that boy was riding last night. It's same one. It's the boy, too. He must have waken just after we left. Saddle his horse and rode away. And why him do that? He thought we were outlaws. Oh, him go straight into outlaw camp. He'll be lucky if they don't shoot him on sight. We've got to do what we can to help him. Come on, silver. Get him up, Scott. So you want a job, a kid? Yeah. What kind of a job do you think you'd find here? Well, anything is all right, as long as it's honest. I saw the smoke from your campfire, and well, I just thought I'd take a chance. You sure did. That's enough. Get back to your post. Ah, you won't have any more visitors today. You never can tell. Stay there. Hey, what is this camp? Well, we're trappers, son. This is the office. We're trappers. We're trappers. We're trappers. We're trappers. We're trappers. We're trappers. This is the off-season, and we're just camping here to fall. Oh, I guess you wouldn't have any use for me. You never can tell about that. There might be a few odd jobs around you could handle. Well, that'll be fine. Yeah, we'll see. You're husky enough. You had a gun. Well, not bad. I'm better with a rifle. Well, stick around. Pork chops over there. I'll give you some grub. Oh, a couple of hungry's coming up the trail. You know them? No. One of them's wearing a mask and the other's an engine. I know them. They're outlaws. It was a mask man and an engine. Yeah, and the mask man's got a big white horse. You couldn't miss it if it's the same one. That's right. They sort of expected to visit from those two. Are they all right? Joe, get all the boys together and start pouring lead down that trail. The one that picks off the mask man gets a hundred dollars. You hear that, man? Over to the head of the trail and open fire. The one who picks off the mask man gets a hundred dollars. The curtain falls on the first act of our Lone Ranger story. Before the next exciting scenes, please permit us to pause for just a few moments. How to continue our story. When the Lone Ranger and Tonto saw young Bob Blake ride into the outlaws' camp, they rode after him, but a hail of bullets drove them off and they were forced to return to their own camp. Those talks, them seers. No, Kimosabi. Well, there's no way to get close to their camp without being seen during the day. We'll have to try it again tonight. Bad Ward know you here. We aren't sure it's Ward. I think the boy is still safe. Maybe the boy worked for gang. Lose way when him come here last night. I can't believe that. What's the matter? There's something shining on the ground over here. It's a metal art. So watch, Tonto. Take a look inside the cover. It belonged to the boy? Yes, to Bob Blake on his 21st birthday from Randy Oakman. Randy Oakman? Him scout? One of the best. We'll do everything we can for him. I'm not a fool, Ward. Aren't you kidding? You couldn't expect me to stay around here for a whole day and I'd find out you were a crook. What about it? What about it? You aren't going to find any honest armbands around this cafe. I thought maybe the mask man might have. You wanted him shot? He works things from a different angle of me. We don't like each other. That's all. You can choose between us if you want to. I'm not a crook. I do better to stick with us. There's more of us for one thing. It's no trick for us to stop a wagon train and relieve the emigrants of the gold. That runs into money. No thanks. You're leaving us? Can I? Sure. Where are you going? I don't care. Got anything to eat on the way? Until yesterday I hadn't eaten for three days. That ain't good for a kid your age. Suit yourself. Now I used to go hungry. It's worse when your mind is awful clear and all you can feel is a pain that keeps shooting through you. Was it like that with you? Yeah. You can have it. And sometimes you feel yourself gone. And you're glad. But you wake up again that's even worse. You want to die and you can't. I didn't... You got a job here. If you want it, plenty of vitals. When you hold up a wagon train, you ever kill anybody? Not if we can help it. There's no sense to that. You sleep on a kid. Roll up in your blankets and give me your answer in the morning. I will. You wake up. Not make sound. The engine. You follow me, show how you get out of camp. No, the mask man sent you out. That's right. And I'll give you this here. What is it? My watch. Engine. He's gone. He's gone. Well, Joe, I spotted a wagon train. He'll be campin' up the spring tonight. Bob, round up the boys. Tell him we got work ahead of us. Tonight? Yeah, hurry up. You trust that kid? I like the way he handles the rifle. And after this job, we'll be able to trust him. That's right. You didn't see anything of the mask man around, did you? Not a sign. You collect that hundred dollars. I'd make it a thousand. But I'm glad he's out of the way. Come on, how many wagons, how many men? I think it's a Randy Oakman that's leadin' them. It's about time we cooked his goose. That's what I say. There's only ten wagons and I'd say about a dozen men. We can handle him. All right. Get those wagons in the circle all around the spring. That's it. Keep movin'. There's a nice spot for a camp. I wish it was more open. It's the best spot in miles, though. Good water? Fine. They call it Traveler Spring. That isn't funny. Traveler Spring is back in Kansas. There's about a hundred Traveler Springs out here. Hey. Are you thinkin' about... Yeah, that's what I'm thinkin' about. Well, there's no Indians in this country. Outlaws? He used to be a tough hombre called Ward, but he's in Mexico now. Oh, don't worry so much, Frank. I've got my wife and daughter to think of. Pa, I'm thirteen years old today. You told us that first thing this morning, young lady. What do you want, another present? Not from you, Randy, but I want another from Pa. From me? What do you mean? It's thirteen old enough to sing, oh, Susanna. Sure it is. Traveler Spring. Oh, Susanna. If you don't tell the kid yes, he'll leave your brain up for good. I... go ahead, Mary. Thank you. I came to Alabama. Randy, go for your guns. There's a mask man riding this way. The sun's full on his face. Put that sick shooter back in your hold. Can't you see? Give me that gun. There's an Indian with him. Hello, Randy. Glad to see you're in charge of this wagon train. What's up? I think you're in for an attack. Thanks for warning us. We'll be ready for the coyotes. I have a plan, Randy. We might be able to capture the gang instead of driving them off. Sure thing. Don't forget there's women and children in this train. They won't be in danger. This is Frank Blake, mask man. He's my second in command. Did you say Blake? That's right. You have a son called Bob? You've heard of him? Yes, he stopped at our camp about a week ago. Is he all right? He must have had a hard time of it, but he's all right now. In a way. What do you mean by that? Don't judge him too harshly. He was all alone out here and he thought I was an outlaw too. The boy was hungry. Hungry? Remember, Randy? We're going back 25 years. Bob won't be with him when they attack us. He might be. He won't be if you can talk with him first. How could I do that? My plan would give you a chance. Then I'm all for it. To save Bob from what I've gone through, I'd give my life. I don't care, Bob. I can see the wagons through the trees. Get down the hill and take cover behind that big pine. Yeah. You're the farthest to the left. I'll be over there about the center. When you hear three shots, open fire and close in. I don't have to shoot to kill, do I? Just shoot to keep from being killed. Huh? You'll get the idea. Get up there. Then leave horse up here. Take cover down hill. We've got to move fast. You told him to keep the fires up and keep moving around, didn't you? Yes, but... A gang won't attack until the camp course down the hill. And the mask man promised me a chance to talk with Bob before we open fire. Is he with the others, Tonto? No. His horse over there. Him wait by big pine. Let me show you, we go slow, not make noise. But don't take too long, Mask Man. We'll be back in 15 minutes. Come on, Blake. I said there were 12 men. I don't see any. Of course, it's hard to tell just by the campfires. But... somehow those wagons look also familiar. What if it was Randy's train? No sense. That sounds like Mary. It could be his train. And Paul and Mom and Mary could have come along with him. Oh, no. I'll check my gun. But you can't take a chance, you fool. I'm sorry. But you can't take a chance, you fool. You've got to get down there and warn him. If it do, war will shoot you. There, boy. He's standing up. Stop him. He's going down the hill. There's been no signal. That was Mary singing. I could hear, so could he. He's going down the war on the wagon train. I'll come on, shoot him. I'm going to... You stay here. I'll stop him. There's a way to make a break for it. I might as well start right now. Down. Say something to him. The mask man. Hurry. I slipped. Watch it. Your father's wedding at the top of the hill. Follow me. Paul? We can't waste a minute. That kid might be up to something, boss. He's quiet now. That ain't safe. If he turns yellow... He won't. He could spoil everything. The longer we wait here, the more chance he has to think. They haven't turned in for the night yet. It's getting awful late. Take a look around. See if they're all ready. All right. Boss. Just reach for the sky. You're covered and so are all your men. It's the mask man. That's a little Ranger. You won't get me. Ow! My hand. The little Ranger. You never told us. It's the little Ranger, boys. He's got all the men from the wagon train with him. Don't shoot any more, Masked Man. I'm throwing down my gun. Are you coming over there, Randy? Cut him off. How about you, Blake? They're throwing down the guns without firing the shots. Then use your ropes. You aren't hurt, Ward. Pull it, not gun from hand. You live to hang. The immigrants will take you as far as Santa Fe. And the courts will deal with you and all your men. You can't do this. Stand up. It's a long, long trail. The justice will be waiting at the end. Get your wagons on the way. Get up there. Get up there, boys. It's nice to have you drive on the wagon, son. I'm glad to be here. But I guess you can thank the Masked Man for that. We haven't been able to thank him. But he must know we're grateful. I bet he's still watching out for us. I bet he is too. This is a time of day I like best. And we're just starting out in the morning. Oh, Susanna, don't you cry for me. You sing too, Bob. All right. Will you, Mom? Of course. Will you, Pa? Well, I don't mind if I do. That's a right, pretty song. All together then. Oh, Susanna, don't you cry for me. I'm going to Louisiana with my banjo on my knee. Oh, Susanna, don't you cry for me. I'm going to Louisiana with my banjo on my knee. Story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.