 horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty high old silver, the Lone Ranger. Masked rider of the planes led the fight for law and order in the early Western United States. The stories of his strength and courage, his daring and resourcefulness have come down to us through the generations and 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 hoofbeats of the great horse Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again. Come on, Silver, I think. Tad Wilkins walked along the crude boardwalk which served as a pavement in the pioneer town of Elbow Bend. His eyes, as he again read the letter he had received, were worried. His forehead wrinkled with a frown. He slowly opened the door of an office whose large weather-beaten sign read Well Spargo. He went in to join his assistant, Lane Tolliver. Howdy, Tad. Been down to pick up the mail? Huh? What's eating you? You look like old man trouble himself. It's nothing Tolliver, just a letter, that's all. What's in it? Bad news? No, nothing like that. It's puzzling. It's from Avery Baird. He's coming to Elbow Bend on the day stage. Avery Baird, huh? He's district manager for Wells Fargo, ain't he? Yes, he wants me to meet the stage. Let her say why he's coming? No, it says he's coming. That's what puzzles me. I've been in charge of this office for three years and he never visited me before. Maybe something's wrong and he wants to check up on it. What do you mean? Well, I heard that the last time Baird came here to look the office over, it's before you and me were hired. It was on a kind of shortages in cash. Shortages in cash? The man who was in charge of the office went to jail. Brickney's still there. Now see here, Tolliver, if you're accusing me of stealing the company's money. Well, I ain't accusing you any other than Ted. Just tell me what I heard. Well, maybe so, but I don't like the way you said it. Well, cool off. That letter is giving you the G.B.'s, which you need as a drink. Baird couldn't be coming here because there's money missing. At least I don't think he could. Yeah, this will fix you up. I thought I told you to stop drinking during office hours, Tolliver. Come off of it, Ted. A little snort once in a while. There's a man of world good. Here, drink this and see for yourself. I don't want it. Oh, drink it. Take your mind off that letter. Oh, all right. You look better already. Tolliver. Yeah? Maybe there's something in what you say. I mean, about there being something wrong. Well, of course, it's only a guess. We've still got two hours before Baird gets here. If any mistakes happen, mate, I want to know about him. I got the books you've been keeping and I'll get mine. Wait a minute. You mean accusing me of stealing cash from the county? Of course not. One of us might have made a mistake in our bookkeeping. It ain't like that. Well, you check my books and I'll check yours. That way, we'll... What's the matter? My head feels kind of funny. I get strung to spam. Maybe you ought to go home and lie down, Ted. I want to go over those books. You're the boss. I'll get them. I don't know what's come over me. I never felt this way before. Here's my books, Ted. I'll check over yours. All right. Let's see here. My eyes... I won't focus. All your figures are just a blur. Take my advice, Ted, and go home and put a spell. Here's to me. You're a sick man. Mr. Baird, I'm supposed to meet him. I'll meet him at the stage and explain everything. All right, Toliver. I'll leave it in your hands. That's a ticket. Just leave everything to me, Ted. And you won't have to worry about a thing. Howdy. I reckon you must be Mr. Baird. Yes, that's right. You, Mr. Wilkins? No, no. My name's Toliver. Lane Toliver. I'm Ted's assistant. I don't understand. My letter I expressly asked for Mr. Wilkins to meet me. Well, Ted went home. Said he had a headache. I shouldn't wonder if he had. What I suspect is going on in his office is true. Let me take your bags. I'll show you to the office. When did Wilkins' headache occur? I reckon it commenced about the same time he got your letter. He was mighty worried and upset when he read it. Oh, he was, huh? Yeah. Then he got out of his account book so as to correct any mistakes he might have made. I see. I hope there's nothing wrong, Mr. Baird. There's something very definitely wrong, Toliver. It looks as if I may not be long in tracing the trouble. Oh, here's the office. I have a chair, Mr. Baird. I reckon you're tired after your trip, so make yourself comfortable. There'll be time enough for that later. Right now I want to look at Wilkins' books. Yes, sir. I'll get them for you. Have you ever noticed anything strange about Wilkins' behavior, Toliver? You mentioned it. He's acted kind of funny on several occasions. Like he was doing something he didn't want me to know about. Yes, I thought so. These are Wilkins' books, huh? Yes, sir. We each keep our own accounts. There's no point in my looking further now, Toliver. Everything I wanted to know was right here in black and white. You mean there's something wrong with Ted's account? Not just wrong, but criminal. According to these records, he's been stealing money regularly from the company for the past six months. Soon as I've had dinner, I want you to take me to Wilkins' house. I'm going to face him with his crime. Some time later, an Indian astride a paint and a boy who sat on an all-white cold rode along a wagon trail not far from town. They were Toto and Dan Reed, the Lone Ranger's nephew. Is it very far to camp now, Toto? Maybe three, four miles. Lone Ranger, make camp in a royal. We get there plenty soon. Golly, I hope there'll be something good for dinner. I'm starved. Long ride makes you plenty hungry. Oh, Victor, hold on. Hey, who do you suppose fired that shot, Toto? I don't see anybody, do you? Shot come from behind trees. House on the other side. Maybe shot come from house. Oh, gosh, maybe we'd better investigate. Get him up scout. There, house. Toto, look. There's a horse hitched out in front. Uh-huh. We'll ride to back a house, Dan. Maybe not be seen. Hold it, Toto. Hold it. Wait here. Wait here, but why? Me look in window. Me see man bend over body on floor. Maybe him murder. A murderer? Oh, you wait. Lone Ranger not want you to risk danger. It's not safe to come. All right, Toto, if you say so. You lift hands. What? You'll not make move or me shoot. Toto. Toto, don't you remember me? Oh, you once outlaw. Lone Ranger save your life. You tell him you reform. That's right. Lefty Harris is a name. I've kept my word. I have reformed. Well, I didn't shoot, Tad. I found him like this just before you saw me. Tad Wilkins was my friend. He asked me to visit him tonight. Oh, him dead? Yeah, he's dead. If I ever get my hands in the pool, Caddo killed him. What's happening? Me not know yet, Dan. Me see. Oh, here. It's a note. What does it say? Maybe it tells who the murderer is. There is no murderer. Tad killed himself. I don't believe it. Tad wrote this note. He says he's been stealing cash from Noel's Fargo for months and that he'd rather die than rot in jail when he's found out. The note says that all that's left of the cash he stole is in a box on the shelf over the wash bench. I'll go look. Now here, gun on the shoulder. Was it Tad's gun, Toto? Well, it got initials on it. T.W., yeah, you're right. It's hard to believe that he took his own life. One bullet fired. There was cash in that box, all right? Didn't amount to an awful lot. To think that Tad was robbing his employers doesn't make sense. He must've needed money awful bad to do that. Oh, that's strange. What, Toto? Note written with pen and ink. Yeah, that's right, pen and ink, and dried with sand. Ah, me look, me not find pen and ink here. What? Now that you mention it, I don't see ink or pen around here anywhere either. Oh, I don't savvy. Ink dried with sand, but no sand here either. That doesn't beat everything. There ought to be at least a shaker of it on a desk. No pen. No ink, no sand. Watch, it's plain as day. Tad couldn't have written that note. Ah, him not suicide, him murdered. Murdered? Got it, I better keep this note then I'll take Tad's gun, Toto. We had some clue to the killer. Me look outside, maybe find Frank. I'll go with you. I'll wait here, Toto, and look around inside. We'll revenge you, Tad. We'll find the killer. We won't rest till we see him hang. You've got three on your side. I'm a hunch before we're through, there'll be a fourth. A lone ranger. What, Sheriff? What's going on here? He's dead. What's that? He's dead all right. Drilled through the heart. Back when Tad learned you were coming, Mr. Baird, he made up his mind to cheat the law. So he shot himself. So you think it's suicide, huh, Tolliver? Stands a reason, don't it? Found himself trapped after stealing all that cash, so he took the easiest way out. Well, there's no proof of that, Tolliver. It ain't. Maybe you expected him to leave a note or something. Why not? Do you think it's suicide usually do? Well, there ain't no note. There ain't no gun. It appears to me it ain't suicide at all, but murder. Murder? Well, that's ridiculous, Sheriff. Who would want to murder him? I've got a pretty good idea. What are you looking at me for, Sheriff? You don't think I... You used to be pretty handy with the gun, Lefty. I've reformed. I'm traveling straight now. I haven't packed a gun since I was on the prod. Maybe so. But if you don't mind, I'll see for myself. Whoa. Never mind, Sheriff. You don't need to search me. I'm thinking differently. I'll help you, Sheriff. I'll handle this myself, Tolliver. What's this? That's Tad's gun, Sheriff. I found it beside him on the floor. I can see it's his gun. It's got his initials on it. But what are you doing with it? I... Well, I... Ah, one shot fired, eh? Reckon there's no doubt that he did it. Rebs, he learned that Wilkins had a lot of cash. He stole it from Wells Fargo, Sheriff. He stole it from himself. That's a lie. Tad Wilkins was my friend. So you and Tad were friends, eh? Yes. He asked me to visit him tonight. Two of a kind. A reformed outlaw and a swindler. You found out Tad was lifting money from the company so you blackmailed him. He tried to kill you, but you beat him to the gun. Looks to me like a clear case of murder. It's not true. I tell you, I'll prove it. Just before you came, there was an Indian with me. He's outside now. He was here with me. And Indian and a boy. You must have seen him when you rode up. There was just one horse hitched in front when we came, Lefty. And that's yours. But I'm innocent, I tell you. There's the dead man. We found you alone with him. Here's the gun with one shot fired. I didn't do it. I don't know anything about it. All I know is I got enough evidence to hang you, Lefty. Come on. I'm taking you to jail. 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. Continue our story. That night, two figures crept stealthily to the cell window of the small jail in which Lefty Harris was imprisoned. Lefty Harris? Who is it? Who's there? Me. Tonto. Me bring Dan. Tonto, I thought you deserted me when you didn't come back to Tatt's cabin. We didn't desert you. We waited in back and overheard everything that went out between you and the sheriff. We bring message from Lone Ranger. Message? What's he say? Him say you not worry. Him find way to get you free. You mean he doesn't believe I murdered Tatt? He believes I'm innocent? Of course he does. I wasn't sure. I mean, he knows I've been in alcohol. I thought he'd figure I broke my promise to him. Went gunning for Tatt. Lone Ranger not believe that. Him suspect other fellow murdered Tatt. Other fellow? What do you mean? He doesn't cover. The low down skunk. The sheriff will only listen to him. Him not listen without proof. But he's got to. They're going to hang me. He's got to know the truth. Him no truth. Lone Ranger not let you die. You bet he won't. You get that proof, Lefty. You just wait and see. Sometime later, crouching in the shadows of the world's Fargo Express office, the only way we can be certain of Tulliver's guilt is to examine those books. Not right. Dan will signal us from his watch post if the noise attracts attention. I'll use my gun, but the sound wasn't very loud. Which desk belonged to Tulliver? I don't know yet. Let me try this one. Here's something. What you see? Some of Tulliver's belongings. There's no doubt about this being his desk. Let me see it. You got suicide note? Yes. We'll compare the handwriting. There's the proof, Tutto. The handwriting is the same. Tulliver wrote this note. Him try to make Ted appear thief. Yes. When he learned that Baird was coming, he had to cover himself. So he murdered Ted and left that note to convict him. It was a simple matter for him to convince Baird by merely switching the books. Making Baird believe that his own dishonest accounts were Ted's. Ah, him plenty smart. We use book to catch crook. I have a better idea. But first, I want to talk to Baird. He's heavy. My plan works. Tomorrow we'll trap the killer. The windows. They left that way. There they go. Say up, Tulliver. Ain't a chance of catching them, too, Tulliver. A night swallowed them up. Who were they? Mess men and an injured, Mr. Baird. I was passing by the office when I saw the lamp. Indian, eh? Lefty Harris mentioned an Indian when I arrested him. That's right. These two must be some friends of the outlaws. What were they doing here? We'll try and rob the safe, I reckon, Mr. Baird. I saw him working over it. Yes, you're right. Lucky you happened along when you did, Tulliver. They might have gotten away with the cash. I would have stepped in and caught them red handed the minute I saw them, Chef. But I wasn't carrying a gun. Even so, the company will appreciate you a quick thinking, Tulliver. We'll have a talk in the morning. I believe I can safely say that tonight's work will not, uh, go unrewarded. The next day, Lane Tulliver and Avery Baird, district manager for Wells Fargo, sat at a table in a cafe. It was a nice job you did last night, Tulliver. Thanks, Mr. Baird. It's, uh, too bad that you weren't equally observant in the office. I, uh, don't know what you mean. According to the accounts, Tad Wilkins stole the company's cash regularly over a period of six months. But what's that got to do with me being observant? You'd kept your eyes open, Tulliver. You'd have noticed the shortage. But we each kept our own books. Besides, Tad was a manager. It was his job to oversee things. Just the same. It isn't possible that Wilkins would have gone without giving you some clue. After what you did last night, Tulliver, I intended to recommend you as manager of the office here. But in the light of your failure to suspect Wilkins... I did suspicion Tad wasn't on the level with the company, Mr. Baird. And some of the things he did struck me as being on the shady side, but, hell, I ain't a man to make trouble, unless I'm sure of my facts. It's easy for you to say that now. And I, myself, might believe it, but I couldn't persuade the main office to believe it. They didn't suspect anything was wrong until they saw the reports. You mean, if I'd notified the company of my suspicions, I'd get the promotion? That's right. I was going to notify them when I learned you were coming to Elbow Band. Can you prove that? Sure, sure. I wrote down everything suspected about Tad Wilkins in the letter. But you didn't mail it, huh? No, no, I didn't. I was all set to when I heard you were coming, so I figured there wasn't any use. Yes, I reckon I have. Don't recollect thrown it away. Well, that puts a different aspect on the letter. You mean I'll get to be manager after all? I don't see why not. I'll forward your letter to the main office as proof of your alertness. That'd be first-rate. Well, I have some business to attend to now, but I suppose you'll have the letter ready for me at the office this afternoon? Sure, Mr. Baird. I'll have it ready. You can call forth this afternoon any time you want. Do you need to find the letter, I hope? No, no, I have it right here. Hmm. You write a nice neat hand, Tolliver. Thanks, Mr. Baird. And a handsome signature, too. Well, I always kind of prided myself in the way I signed my name, even if I do say so myself. Well, I think this letter will suit my purpose very well. Is it everything you thought it would be? Yes, Tolliver, even down to the last detail. It was dated two days ago. That's when I wrote it. Naturally. Oh, by the way, Tolliver, which of the account books that you kept? Uh, why, these here, these are all mine. And these others on this desk, I presume, are the ones Wilkins had charged on? You should know that, Mr. Baird, you found the fake entries in them yourself. Oh, so I did, so I did. But there's nothing like making sure, huh, Tolliver? You're acting mighty peculiar all of a sudden. Like you maybe had something up your sleeve. Maybe I have. Open the door, Tolliver. I'm expecting some guests. It's a sheriff. Inside, Lefty, don't try any wrong moves. Seems to me you've taken care of that yourself, Sheriff. What's Lefty here doing here? He's been sentenced to hang. You'd like to see that happen, wouldn't you, Tolliver? Don't savvy. What's this all about? Well, I brought Lefty here just like gas, Mr. Baird. But what for? I'll be hard-tired if I know. You'll find out very shortly, Sheriff. Can't you take these bracelets off me I'm not a chance, Lefty. You're a condemned killer, and I aim to treat you like one. Now stand over in that corner where I can keep an eye on you. See why you brought me here in the first place. Who's that? Another guest, Tolliver. Well, it's the engine. The one I saw in the office ran around the safe. Lift your hands, Redskins. You don't need that gun, Sheriff. I invited him here. Ah, you get latter. Yes, Tolliver. I have Tolliver's note right here. That good. What in thunder's this all about? I brought all of you together at the suggestion of a mask friend. In order to expose the murderer of Tad Wilkins. Are you local? Lefty Harris has already been tried and sentenced as Tad's killer. Thanks to you, you yellow-libered snake. I've got evidence, Tolliver, to prove that the man who killed Wilkins is the same who stole the company's cash. Tad stole the cash. You saw how it did it. Is it count books, huh? Of course. What more proof could you want? Me, fine body with Lefty. Fine suicide note. Let me see that, Redskins. What do you mean by taking that paper with you and interfering with the law? Here, note. You take good look. It's just what you said it was. I don't see nothing peculiar about it. Let me explain, Sheriff. This is a letter written by Tolliver. What about it? It's dated two days ago. The chances are it was written this morning. That's a lie. I wrote it on the date it says. Tolliver, in fact, is you wrote it. It bears your signature. Sheriff, I want you to compare the handwriting in this letter with that in a suicide note Wilkins is supposed to have written. Let me see now. Say, they're exactly alike. Ah, them written by same man. Don't believe them, Sheriff. They're trying to frame me. You framed yourself, Tolliver. You wrote both notes. Stay away from me. I tell you it's a trick. You can't prove a thing against me. You not only killed Wilkins, but you were the one who stole the cash. The lion. The bookshower. Your bookshower shortage for six months, Tolliver. Your scheme nearly worked when you switched the records and claimed Tad Wilkins' books for your own. But the mask man you saw on here last night wasn't trying to rob the safe. He was checking the handwriting of this suicide note against your accounts. The handwriting match. Don't believe them, Sheriff. He's framing me. It makes sense to me, Tolliver. You were grafting the company regular. Then when you saw you were going to be found out, then to keep Tad from revealing the truth, you killed him and made it look like suicide due to a guilty conscience. You're not taking me? Yeah. Make a move and I'll use it. Don't be a fool, Tolliver. You can't get away. Yes, again. Your tin-star tenderfoot. I'm doing it. Stop him. Don't let him get through that door. Just try to stop me, Lefty. Put a slug square between your eyes. Happy hunting, Jim. Grab him. You'll not get away now. Dog's gone in. Somebody in the outside had to build a gun out of my hand. You're going to stretch your rope, Tolliver. Oh, an earth could have fired that shot. That lone ranger. Dog's gone tooting it was. There ain't another hombre within a hundred miles who could show as pretty shooting as that. I've just heard as a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.