 the proud of Dustin Hardy, Hal Silver, the Lone Ranger. His faithful Indian companion, Toto, the daring and resourceful mask rider of the planes, led 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. Mile of the past, and the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse, Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again. Oh, Silver, the storming foe! A deputy came out of the sheriff's office with a hammer, a few horseshoe nails, and a new handbill. Hey, lefty, give me a hand with this. Got a nailer up where everyone can see it. Who's the critter this wanted? Name's Branigan. Now, just hold this in place while I put a couple of nails in. This gives a pretty fair description of the critter. Yep. Wanted for a string of robberies. Don't say nothing about murders. I guess the critter steered clear of hanging crimes. With this description, it won't be hard to recognize Branigan if he comes this way. Sheriff Comstock figures he'll pass close to this town and his way to the border. Is he'll head for the border, huh? Yep. I guess that'll hold her in place. See, look over there. Express office. There he goes, running for a horse. Here comes the sheriff on the dead run. Lefty, get the horses. Right. Express office has been robbed. We saw the critter right away. It's Branigan. Great day. Get them horses. All you men, get your horses and meet me here right away. It won't take time to square each of you as a deputy. You gotta catch Branigan before he can cross the border into Mexico. Lefty, you take five men and ride direct to the border. Right. Maybe you can cut him off. The rest of you men will come with me. We'll follow the trail. Come on. You'll find this way. Right. Good. Get up there. Get up. Get up. Between the town and the border, an Indian had dismounted near a waterhole. Heard hoofs approaching and looked up as Branigan came close. Hi there, engine. Oh, you ride plenty fast. Yeah, and if I'm seen, I'll be shot on sight. I'm taking your jacket in place of my coat. Huh? Are you outlaw? Yeah, I got no time to argue. If I can get about one minute more. The lawmen were not far behind the outlaw Branigan. The sheriff and those with him rode from one direction, while lefty and the others came from the south. Between the two, a man lay on the ground. There he is, boys. He stretched out on the ground. It's a trick. You sure that's Branigan? Look at the coat. That's the bright tan when ranch told about. There comes lefty from the other side. Good. Look out for tricks. You may be playing possum. Keep your guns ready. Lefty, every boys keep their guns on Branigan. He's playing some sort of a game. Now come on, Branigan. Stand up and stop playing possum. Get up before we get rough with you. We know you ain't asleep. Wake up. Stand on your feet. Hey, that ain't Branigan. It's an Indian. He's hurt. What's the matter, Indian? Who's got a canteen hand here? Here's one. Here, take a drink, Indian. Steady now, Indian. Me. Me tanto. Now, take it easy, fella. We can savvy. Branigan got you and changed clothes. Is that what happened? That's right. No, wait a minute. That is all the blazes. I seen what I thought was a red skin. He was riding south. For the border? Yeah. It must have been Branigan. We can't touch him in Mexico. Me. Sorry. If it wasn't for your clothes, he'd never got away. Well, hold on, Steve. Take it easy. But this Indian here... It's Banshan Indian, but it ain't his fault. It's our own fault for not capturing Branigan sooner. You... You see, fella? I see him all right. Where an Indian's clothes. Him ride horse? Yeah. It paint horse? Oh, it was a chestnut. Oh, that good. Why is it good? For him not get scout. Who? Scout. Horse, a tanto. Maybe tanto. Maybe scout fetch a friend here. Look here, Tondo, or whatever your name is. I'm Sheriff Comstock. I'm the man who's to blame for that killer being free today. It's my job to run him down and I failed at it. I have heard of an Indian named Tondo, and he said to write a paint called Scout. That right? What's more, this Indian I speak of is supposed to have a friend. That right? Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I ain't. Anyhow, I'm going to tell you something. If this paint horse brings a friend you mention, then by any chance that friend is masked. Huh? What are you driving, Ed Comstock? What do you mean, a masked friend of this engine? Boys, I'm talking to Tondo. As I was saying, Tondo, you might mention to your friend that Branigan has crossed the border and there ain't no way I can get him now. I'd be downright grateful for some help. Savvy? Ah, Tonto Savvy. Thanks. Is there anything you need now? No. All right, boys, we'll head back for town. Ain't you going to follow the trail no more? Maybe we can catch him. You giving up, Sheriff? I says we're heading back. Ain't no sense in riding farther south. Come on now. Get up there. The lone ranger waiting in camp for Tonto was surprised when Scout came in without a rider. He soon realized that something had happened to his friend. Here's Silver. It was the worker but a few moments to saddle up. Then the masked man set out to follow Scout's back trail. Let's go, Scouts. One, Silver. Oh, oh, Silver, oh boy. Easy. Keep him happy. You come and bring Scout to the big fella. Tondo, what happened to you? Wait here. We know you come soon. Those clothes. A fella catch Tonto off guard. You're hurt. It, it's not much. Lawman come here. Him say, hope you help. Lawman? Ah, Sheriff named Cumbstock. Cumbstock? He's a good Sheriff. Don't tell me he's the one who gave you that cut on the head? No. No, it, it's fella named Branigan. Branigan? Is he around here? No. Him skate to border. Him wear Tonto's clothes. He gets across a Rio Grande. The law can't touch him. That's what Sheriff say. Sheriff, hope you help. I see. You go on trail? Well, how about you, Tonto? You think you can follow his trail? Ah, me be all right. Let me look at that wound and see how badly you hurt. Not bad. We can pick up Branigan's trail south of the Rio Grande. Ah, me find it. Wounds not very deep. We go now. Find trail, huh? Sheriff got plenty faith than you. All right, Tonto. We'll try to earn a good lawman's confidence today. Look, he's not steady. Get him up! Oh, Tonto! The masked man and Tonto followed the trail to the Rio Grande where it disappeared in shallow water. On the southern shore of the Muddy River, Branigan made no effort to conceal his tracks. Him go shore right here. Come on, Tonto. Come on, boy. Right up, Tonto. Oh, Tonto. Come on, brother. Come on, brother. Cray him easy from now on. It's a good thing, Tonto. He goes from here on. I'll have to go without your help. Why do you say that? Tonto, I've been thinking of Branigan. As long as he stays on this side of the river, he can't be touched by the law in Texas. That's right. He mustn't know that I found you in his clothes. Why? I can't go into it now, Kimosabe. I've got to shove on before it gets dark. Oh. I want you to find Shadow Comstock. Tonto turned back toward Texas, while the lone ranger continued on the outlaw's trail. He saw that the trail led directly to a small doby house. Here, he rained up. Oh, boy. Listen to me. Is that a big fella? Wonder if a bluff will work with a man like Branigan. I see. Hello there. Coming in. Hold it. You're covered. It's all right. Tonto, who said that? I said it. After the bright sun I can hardly see in this doby. Where are you? Right here. You're covered. Huh? Well, I thought you were Tonto. You're injustice, he was. Yeah? Those are his clothes. What about it? Where'd you get them? Where did you get that mask you were wearing? At least I didn't steal it from an Indian. Where's the Indian who was to meet me here? Look here, mister, before we talk anymore, I'll take those guns you're packing. Before we talk anymore, you'll put away the gun you're holding on me. That's big talk. Especially for the man that's under gun sights. Hand over those guns. I'd be more willing to talk if you'd hand over yours. Oh, you would, eh? Or, uh, must I take it away from you? You might have lived and, stranger, just you try it. Very well. Oh, boy. Ah, that hurt, didn't it? You, you... The bullet probably wrecked your gun. You should have done as I asked. I never saw anything like a draw of yours. Oh, we'll talk things over. Shall we sit down? Hand hurts like fury. How about my Indian friend, Bursey? You know, we're around here. Don't tell me that. We had a big deal lined up. I was to meet him. Well, he, uh, that is... Where'd you leave him? I, uh... Answer me. In Texas, north of the border. Oh. You left him in Texas, huh? I, uh, suppose you want me to go and find him. Well, I... That's too thin. The Texas law can act in this country. You came here to meet me in place of the Indian. You tricked me into crossing the border. Is that it? No. No lie to me. This is the Texas lawman sent you down here to meet me. None of them. How did you find out about the plans I had? See here. If you're dodging the Texas law, maybe we can get together. You, Tin Horn, go on back and tell the law that your scheme didn't work. Tell them that they can sit on the north shore of the Rio Grande until they grow whiskers a yard long. They won't get me. Oh, wait a minute. I ain't working with no lawman. My name's Branigan. You must have heard of me. Why should anyone have heard of you? Well, I'm on the dodge, my own self. Save your life for someone else. It's the truth. Now, why don't the two of us team up? If you've got something good in the fire, I can do anything that Indian Pal of yours can do. Big talk. I can. Just try me out. I can't handle a gun as fast as you did, but I'm no slouch. Well, you know about silver mines. Silver mines? I'm not interested in two-bit plays like sticking up a stagecoach or robbing an express office. I'm after something big. Listen, I can help. I know I can. How about bossing a bunch of braids? Oh, Mexicans. The mines on this side of the border. See that swell? That's first rate. Tell me more about it. I asked if you could boss a bunch of braids. Sure I can. I wonder. How much is this thing good for? How much? Vannegan, if you travel with me for a little while, you'll never have to worry about a job for the rest of your life. 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. Now to continue our story. Sheriff Comstock sat in his office with the deputy call left here, Steve came in with word of the man who'd worked in the express office. Well, here he's now, Lefty. Steve! Well, I just come from the Sawbones. Said the poor jant that Branigan clubbed will be as good as new in a few days. Well, it's not Branigan's fault that he's not dead. There was no call for him to knock him down after he got the money. Branigan must like to crack men on the head. He did the same thing with that engine. Sheriff, speaking of heads, folks in town that are going to be howling for your scalp if you don't do something. Do something? Well, Branigan, everyone says you're laying down on the job. Can't touch him while he's across the border. Any fool knows that. Sheriff Comstock, I got a few comments for himself. What you hear, Lefty? Some of the men are grumbling about the way you gave up the trail. Grumbling, are they? Well, let's have it, Lefty. Well, they figure we should have followed Branigan to the border. For all we know, we may still be on this side. Not Branigan. The dock figures you should have arrested the Indian as an accessory to his escape. Why? Because the poor critter got wrapped on the head by Branigan? Well, if the crook hadn't been wearing the engine's jacket, I wouldn't have let him get past me. So that's how the dock figures, eh? Yeah. If that's his line of reasoning, this town's mighty lucky that the dock ain't a lawman. Why? Now, listen, you two. Let people talk all they want. They don't know who that redskin is. He said his name was Tonto. Yeah. And you heard what I told him, didn't you? About taking word to some friend. That's right. Look out that window. What? Ain't that Tonto raining up outside? Well, sure enough. So it is. Boys, you just sit tight and see if the sea dive planner don't begin to show sproff. Hi there, Tonto. Oh. I figured you'd be coming here sooner or later. Did that friend find you? Uh, him find Tonto. You passed my message on to him? That's right. Him ride south. Him cross Rio Grande. Yeah? Did he send any word to me? Ah, him say, come here, see you. Ask you to help Tonto. Good. Help you? How? We need plenty men. Maybe 10, 12 men. Count on him. What else do you need? Get plenty shovel. Get horse. And come dig and ground. All right. You hear that, boys? Get shovels and horse and get ready to dig. Dig what? Why? Never mind asking questions. Go get spades and start to dig wherever Tonto shows us. Taking orders from an engine. I don't like it. Stop your grumbling and do what you're told. Any man that don't like it can hand in his badge right now. Well, Sheriff, an engine given orders. I'm giving the orders, not the engine. What's more, maybe you don't know who that engine is. Unless I am mighty mistaken, what he says comes from the Lone Ranger. The Lone Ranger? Great scum. Mask rider. The one to say so in the first place. Leap and hand. Now get spades and shovels. I'll get more men. I'll get horses hit stuff. Anything the Lone Ranger says is right with me. Spades and shovels were soon loaded on wagons and the men followed Tonto out of town. It was a dry season and the real Grand was in many places nearly dry. Tonto led the way to a place where a mere trickle of shallow muddy water marked the boundary line between two nations. Here, under the Indian's direction, the lawman began to dig. I never heard of making a river running a new channel. He got a paw for a lot of digging to do. If you think you're working hard, look at the way that engine's making the dirt fly. Hey, Tonto, what's the bag of all this digging? What's the plan? Make river run through gully. Don't you see his plan? The Arroyo is where the river flowed a good many years ago. When we're done, it'll flow there again. Then what? Then the river won't flow along the border. It'll be north of the borderline. Branigan is to be brought near here by that man. He'll figure he's safe as long as he stays south of the river. But the truth is, he'll be on Texas ground. I sure hope it works out that way. If you're mighty surprised, don't break. Now bend to them shovels. We've got to get things ready. How's the man plan to get Branigan here? Leave that to the Lone Ranger. A Lone Ranger had convinced Branigan that it'd be wise to wait until darkness fell before leaving the small adobe house. It was a long, dragging afternoon with little conversation. We're to be partners. I don't see why you can't let me have one of your guns. I don't trust you that far, Branigan. But you smashed my gun with a bullet. You shouldn't have gone on me. That was before you talked about a silver mine. We weren't partners then. You sure you can find this place in the dark? Oh, I'll find the place all right. Ah, still a couple of hours to wait. Darkness was an hour away when Branigan looked out the window and saw two people. Those two are pals of mine. They are? Yeah, Moose Lacey and Breed Cortez. Are they wanted in the States? Yeah, same as I am. They're the ones who told me about this vacant house. Makes a first-rate hideout. They've seen our horses in the shed. I'll let them know who's here so they won't come in with their guns blazing. All right, boys. Come on in. I got someone you should go to. What's in the bag? I've got a bag of semi-glow. Yeah, but be cool, too. The only trouble is we have to kill two men. Who's that? Mess. Ah, take it easy, boys. He's all right. Yeah. He's letting me in on something big. Why don't you take the mask off? That's my business. Get over there, Breed, on the far side of the room. See? That's it. Well, he can't cover up. Don't count on that. Now, hold on, boys. There's no need to be suspicious of each other. We're all in the same boat. Oh, no, we're not, Rennegan. These friends of yours are wanted for murder on the side of the border. We're caught with them. We'll hang with them. So you don't like our company, eh? No. The Mexican authorities can follow your tracks. I'll like it even less. Now, wait, pal. We can let them know. Silver mine? What silver mine? Most I didn't make no argument about the mask because this gent's gonna let me take the place of his partner who didn't show up. He's gonna take me to a place where there's silver. Oh, he is, eh? I didn't promise that. Oh, don't hold out on my friends. Is, uh, this place near the border? Yeah, he said it was. Why? Rennegan, let me tell you something. While me and the breeder on the way here, we pass close to a place where the Rio Grande is mighty narrow and shallow. Well? What do you think we've seen? Well, how would I know? There was a dozen men on the Texas side. They was digging like fury. They was digging to change the course of the Rio. So as they'd have run in an old bed some distance north of the border. What about it? Those men were lawmen. I recognized the sheriff and some of his deputies. Now, let me tell you something else. Yeah? I once had a pal that thought he was safe over here and makes it calm. But he met up with a man that was gonna do him a favor. You see him? This man took him close to the Rio Grande. My pal figured to be safe as long as he stayed south of the Rio. But that's where he got fooled. The river was diverted to a new bed that Texas law nailed him while he was still south of the Rio Grande. Hey, mask man. Are you figuring to pull a trick like that? I'll tell you some more. The man that tricked my friend was tall. He wore two guns and a mask. Caramba, he did it. That smoy, he rode a white horse just like the one I said. Why are you... The horse was called Silver. That's what you call your horse. The man was called the Lone Ranger. Hold it. Looks like a stalemate. Doesn't it, Moose? Yeah. We got to drop on each other but breach on the other side of the room. What are you gonna do about him? I have the gun on you, senor. Watch him. You might get one of us. But the other will get you. Oh, it was all a trick, huh? You were going to take me over to the border instead of to a silver mine. You'd be a lot better off, Bennigan. Texas, you're wanted for robbery. That means jail. Yeah. If you're caught with these friends of yours on this side of the border, you'll face a hangman, a firing squad. I wasn't with them on the killing. You're with them now. You'll be caught with them. You'll die with them. Never mind the talk. Take his guns, Brady, and me. Don't try it. The law's already on the way here. Try more tricks, eh? No, Moose. No tricks. You made the mistake that criminals often make. You underestimated the lawman. They have followed your tracks. That is true. I can see them through the window. He's right. They are coming here. Your local fool you left tracks they could follow. That is true. That's it. Oh! My arm! You too. No! I'll show you. Good. The law is coming. They're nearly here. They'll get us. I fix you for that. I fix you. I cut you to pieces. No, you don't. I get my hand free. I fix you. Better give you a lullaby. The lawman can bring those two back to consciousness. How about you, Branigan? No, no. Don't hit me. Don't give me what you gave those two. Let me out of here. The law will get me. It sure will. I'm here with a stolen money. Those saddlebags. They'll hang me. I'm not a killer. I never killed anyone. Would you like to cross the border? Yes, yes. I don't want to die here. Give me the law in Texas. Come on then. This way. They'll get us. They'll come with me. They're shooting. Come on, Branigan. We're going to Texas. Come on. Get up. Get up. You mean to say we dig all this digging for nothing? Branigan crossed with his own will. I've never seen the like of it. Hey, boys. Sheriff Consock says that we can pack the spades and go back to town. Branigan has come back to town. Branigan has confessed everything. And he crossed the border of his own free will and without being dragged across? Well, he sure crossed of his own free will like a dozen demons was on his tail. Well, I... But I reckon the masked man did a little persuading. I assume it's home. What you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.