 with a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty high old silver, the Lone Ranger. A faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the mass writer 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, there's danger on the trail ahead. The ugly framework of a wooden gallows reared itself like a skeleton in the dismal prison courtyard. In the eerie half light of pre-dawn, the figures walking toward it seemed like shadows out of a dream. It was more than a dream to a white-faced young man surrounded by official witnesses and guards. It was a horrible nightmare that couldn't happen, yet it was happening. In a few moments he, Johnny Higgins, would step through the trap at the top of the gallows and die. Die for a murder he didn't commit. All right, Johnny, right up the steps. Sheriff Connor. Yes? Could I say goodbye to Melissa before... I guess so, kid, but... Well, let's get this over with as soon as we can. And Melissa, Melissa Barnes. Johnny. Johnny. Now, Melissa, don't take on, sir. You really shouldn't have come here. I had to come, Johnny. I've been praying every second that maybe something will happen. No chance of it now. Smile for me, will you, Melissa? I want to remember you that way. Of course, Johnny, I'll smile. Yeah, see you. Goodbye, Melissa. Goodbye, Johnny. I'm sorry, Miss Barnes. Up the steps, kid. Yes, sir. Say, Sheriff. Yes? Ain't this hanging supposed to take place exactly at sunrise? The sun will be up any minute now. With all those rain clouds in the east, you'll never know it. Are you going to have an execution at sunrise if you don't know when the sun comes up? Hmm. The order of the court is that Johnny Higgins steps through that trap exactly at sunrise. I know what we'll do. Go into my office, Jim, and get the almanac that's on my desk. Look in there and find out exactly when the sun is supposed to rise on this day and day. Sure, Sheriff. Right away. And, Jim. Yeah? You better bring the clock out with you, too. We'll make this thing legal all the way through. Sure. Johnny. Yes, sir. Just stand where you are for a minute. Soon as my deputy gets back with the clock, we'll go ahead. All right. Right here on the post. I guess that'll be all right. Did you look in the almanac? Yeah, yeah. According to that, the sun's due to rise this morning at exactly 7.59. 7.59. And it's now... 25 minutes to late. Got almost a half hour to wait. You hear that, Johnny? Yes, sir. I hate to drag this thing out, but Jim's right. This execution has got to be legal. According to the clock, we've got 25 minutes to wait. Only 24 and a half now. 24 and a half minutes. As Johnny Higgins stood on the gallows and listened to the clock that was ticking away his life, his mind was flooded with bitterness. The bitterness of a man about to die for a crime he'd not committed. His thoughts raced back through the unreal series of events that had caused all this. It began almost a month ago. One night, when he and Melissa were driving home from the dance. Here we are, honey. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa there. Come on, I'll help you down. Thank you. Well, there's Sam, the foreman. Wonder why he's up so late. Evening, Miss Melissa. Just getting home from the dance? Yes, Sam. You know Johnny Higgins, don't you? Yeah. Hiya, kid. Hello, Sam. That sure is a pretty dress you're wearing, Miss Melissa. Red's my favorite color. Oh, I thank you, Sam. But this dress isn't red. It's green. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I can see it now. Must be the way the lamp light shines on it. Sam, is Uncle Charlie still up? The light's burning in the living room. He's up all right. Johnny wants to talk to him. Well, it's a bad night to talk to him. He ain't in a very good mood. What's wrong? Some of the ranchers from out in the valley were here tonight talking to him. Les Pruitt, Frank Mallon, and Cal Smith. The argument got kind of hot. They're not always arguing with Uncle Charlie. Even though he loans the money every year to get their crops in. I guess they figure your uncle's interest rates are a little too high. They should be thankful he loans them the money. All that has nothing to do with my business with your uncle. I think I'll bust right in there now. You're taking a chance, kid. The old man's really boiling. Go on, Johnny. I'll wait for you. Sure. Give me a kiss for love. Johnny glanced down at the clock. Three and a half minutes had passed. There were only 23 left. I heard distinctly the talk he'd had with Melissa's Uncle Charlie. Of course you can't marry Melissa. You don't have a steady job. An old prospect of one. Melissa and I love Mr. Bond. That's beside the point. We don't think so. Well, I do. And I'll never allow my niece to marry a man like you. Nothing but a no good cow puncher who can't hold a steady job. Yes, sir. I suppose you want to marry Melissa because you think she'll inherit my money. I've never even thought of that. Oh, yes, you have. Every saddle tramp in the territory has got the same idea. Now wait a minute, Mr. Bond. You're wasting your time. Now get out of here. Get out of my house. All right. I'll get out. But I'll be back and see you again. I'll keep on coming back. No, you won't. Because I won't allow it. And I forbid you to see Melissa. Mr. Bond. You get out. I haven't changed my mind. I'll be back. The steadily ticking clock seemed the loudest thing Johnny Higgins had ever heard. He saw the two more minutes had gone by. That meant only 21 more to live. Now on the half light he could see the faces of the witnesses, Les Pruitt, Cal Smith, Frank Mellon, Sam Ketch, the foreman of the Barnes Ranch. He remembered driving home that night. How angry and confused he was. That must have been why he lost one of his cuff links when he unhitched the horse. He'd gone to his room and went to bed. The next morning he awoke to hear a loud knock on the door. Johnny! Johnny! Wait a minute. I put something on. Melissa, what are you... Johnny, you didn't do it, did you? Do what? Did you come back to the ranch last night? No. I came home, went to bed. Why? Uncle Charlie was killed last night. Murdered. Murdered? You couldn't have done it. Of course I didn't kill you, Uncle. Well, I felt like doing it. Sam Ketch has told the sheriff that you had an argument with Uncle Charlie. Whatever. So did Pruitt and Mellon and Smith. That's not the worst part. It must have happened after I'd gone to sleep. The living room was all torn up. Uncle Charlie was stabbed to death. Oh, you poor kid. But what's that got to do with me? The sheriff only found one clue to the killer. It was a cuff link. Just like yours, Johnny. Cuff link? See, that reminds me. I lost one of mine last night. Where? I don't know. Johnny, please tell me you didn't do it. I swear I didn't, Melissa. I didn't kill you, Uncle. I believe you. I'm afraid no one else will. And Sheriff Cotters... What? He's on his way here now to arrest you. Gee. Looks kind of like him. You gotta leave, Johnny. Get away from here and stay away until they find out who really killed Uncle Charlie. But I'm innocent, Melissa. You can't prove it. You just said you couldn't. Oh, please, Johnny, for my sake, leave. My pony's outside. You can ride him. Well... Please. All right, Melissa. I'll go. Three more precious minutes ticked away into eternity. Johnny felt the perspiration oozing out all over his face. Just as it had that morning when he'd ridden wildly into the mountains on Melissa's pony. He knew a posse was trailing him, but there was nothing to do but go on. Come on, pony! Just a little further! Then suddenly he rented round at a bend on the trail in the river. He was in the midst of a small campsite. He saw three figures crouching around a fire. One was tall, lean, and wore a black mask. His companions were a young boy and an Indian. Oh, my ho! Hold on! Oh, bloody! Looks like you seem to be in a hurry racing that pony on an uphill trail. Man, it's an outlaw. Why not, outlaws? I guess I'm in the right company, anyway. My horse is winded. I can't go any further. What's the trouble? There's a posse trailing me. Was that right? Linchma would be a better name for it. I'll swing if they catch me. What's the reason? Murder. That's dangerous business. But I didn't do it. Honest, I didn't. I've never killed anybody. Doesn't the law know that? Everything's against me. I mean, it looks that way. Why should I want to kill the uncle or the girl I'm in love with? Kamisabi, me hear plenty of horses. Come fast. The posse, they'll get me and I won't have a chance to get away. You don't look like a murderer. Tell me about it. I might be able to help you. All right. My name's Johnny Higgins. Last night I took my girl, Melissa Barnes, to the police. Why had he told the masked man about it? Even now he didn't know. It certainly hadn't helped any. In fact, telling the story had caused him to be captured. You remembered all those questions the masked man had asked. You say you lost a cuff link and one was found at the scene of the murder. That's what Melissa told me. But it couldn't have been mine. Why not? Because she said the link that Sheriff Carter found had a ruby in it. Mine was set with an imitation emerald. I see. Are you sure you've told me everything that happened and all that was said from the time you arrived at the Barnes ranch until you left? Yes, sir. That's the posse. They'll get there. What do we do? Let the horses. We'll have to move fast. Here, Victor. Silver scarf. I'll have to ride double with one of you. My pony's winning. No, Johnny. You're not going with a steady silver. What? What? You mean you're going to double cross me? Leave me here for that lynch crazy posse? There's no danger of you being lynched. I know Sheriff Carter and the law on this part of the country. You'll get a fair trial by a jury. I thought you were going to help me. I am. Listen to me, Johnny. Yeah? I believe you're innocent. I think you've been framed. I don't know exactly how it was done. They'll jail me. I won't hurt you. I promise you that no matter how long it takes, I'll do everything possible to prove your innocence. The boy here with me is named Dan Reed. You'll hear from me through him. I know it may be hard, Johnny, but keep up your nerve. Come on, Silver. All right, Victor. Come on. Come on, Silver. Come on. 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. The sky in the east was brighter now. The measured ticks of the clock were like hammer blows in Johnny Higgins' brain. He remembered his capture by Sheriff Cotter's posse. He hadn't tried enough was the use. His one chance of escape had been the mask man and his friends. When they rode away, Johnny gave up. He'd been taken to jail. He stayed there for a week, then was indicted for murder. A few days later, he even came to trial. Order! Order in the court! Prosecution may continue. And, Johnny Higgins, you don't deny that on the night in question, you had an argument with Mr. Barnes. We had a few words. And you threatened to come back and kill him. No, I just said I'd be back, that's all. The light of what happened, that was enough. Now, tell me something. I hold in my hand a small gold cufflink set with a precious stone. Have you ever seen it before? No. You deny its ownership? Well, I had a pair of cufflinks, something like that, but the stone was different. This link was dropped by the man who murdered Charles Barnes, and you admit that you own one something like it. That'll be all. I'd like to call Sam Ketch to the stand. Sam Ketch? Sam Ketch? Shall I tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth? I'll help you. Sam, you've been the foreman on the Barnes ranch for a number of years. Tell us in your own words exactly what happened the night Mr. Barnes was murdered. Well... Well, I talked to Miss Melissa and Johnny Higgins when they come home from the dance. Young Higgins was real mad and riled up at poor old Mr. Barnes. I heard him talking in the living room. But why should he live through all that trial again? From the very first, he never had a chance and he knew it. Oh, Johnny hadn't been surprised that the jury is verdict of guilty. It was clear daylight now. The sun had just topped a ridge of the Buckhorn Mountain Range. Johnny knew it was the last time he would see it rise. He stole a quick glance at the clock. 11 minutes more. 11 minutes till death. Do people who are about to die see their whole life flash before them? Perhaps that was the reason he could remember so vividly the first time Dan Reed had visited him in prison. Somebody to see you, Johnny. Oh, thanks. Let me know when you're through talking. Hello, Johnny. Remember me? You were with the man who wore a mask. The one who turned me over to the posse. My name's Dan Reed. The three of us you met that day are working hard to prove that you're not guilty. That's no help to me. I'm gonna be hung. Oh, I know. But there's still four days left. Goods four days. Well, Todd will not have been here in town ever since your trial. We've been tracing and checking every person who was anywhere near the Barnes Ranch that night. Three ranches from the valley were there. None of them like Mr. Barnes any more than I did. But that doesn't mean they killed him. I know. So does the man who promised to help you. Promised? What does that mean when I'm gonna die? I'm gonna die, I tell you. Oh, I don't blame you for being scared. I'd probably be so scared I couldn't talk, but... but I know this is the truth. The man who gave you his promise has never broken a trust in his life. Goodbye, Johnny. I'll be back again tomorrow at the next day. Another minute and a half gone. That left only nine minutes and 30 seconds. Johnny looked at the faces of the men below him. He noticed that Melissa's head was barred. She was crying softly. That's the way she'd been when they talked in the cell yesterday. Don't, don't, Melissa, please don't. I can't help it, Johnny. Maybe something will happen. There's almost a full day and a night left. I told you about Dan Reed being here a couple of days ago. What can he do? I don't know, but he says his mask friend of his can do anything. Isn't that the man who deserted you up in the mountains when you were trying to get away from Sheriff Carter? Yeah. And he won't help? You can't tell. Maybe he will. You're just saying that to make me feel better. Yeah, I guess I am. Really all alone, Melissa. There's nothing either of us can do. Eight swiftly racing minutes were all that remained between Johnny Higgins and Death. The sky was brighter now. You could see the nervous movements of the witnesses below him. They shifted uneasily from one foot to the other and looked at the clock as often as he did. Johnny knew them all. Les Pruitt, Frank Mellon, Cal Smith, and Sam Ketch. Anyone or all of them could have killed Charles Barnes. But what Johnny didn't know was that during the last four weeks, Dan Reed and Tonto had trailed each of these men. Check their habits and movements. Move that down. Les Pruitt. He owns a ranch night right next to the bar's place. Well, him big fella, huh? Him talk loud. Yeah. Maybe that's why the Lone Ranger was so sure we'd find him here in a cafe. He's gonna sit in on that poker game, Tonto. Come on, we can move closer. Throw your cards, kids. How many do you want, Pruitt? Give me one. Just one. There you are. All right, open pot. Somebody start betting. Oh, not me. I'm out. What's the matter, Pruitt? Yeah, I made a one card draw to a flush and mist. It's the right color with the wrong suit. That's tough. Did you do it? Did you see that, Tonto? It's one thing the Lone Ranger will be interested in. How about other three men? Yeah, Frank Malone, Cal Smith, and Sam Ketch. They're here in town someplace. During the next two or three days, we'll just have to keep our eyes open. That's all. This waterhole by Main Trail. It's a good place to wait. Yeah. Almost anyone heading for the other end of the valley will stop here to water his horse. Oh, me hear horse now. Somebody come now. Tonto. Huh? Look, it's Frank Malone. Oh, another man, Cal Smith. Yeah, you're right. Come on, we'll stay out of sight. Oh, all you'll pray there. Whoa, whoa, whoa. I sure don't have any trouble getting the horse to stop here. Could as can smell this water a mile away. Yeah, sure can. Drink up there, boys. Say, Cal, didn't Sheriff Carter ask you to be one of the witnesses at the hanging tomorrow morning? Yeah, asked you to, didn't he? Yeah. You know, it's a job I don't have much hankering for. Watching the kid get his neck broke ain't my idea of fun. Me neither. The Sheriff says being an official witness is a public duty, kind of like serving on a jury. Maybe so. I guess Higgins' boy is guilty, all right? He's convicted. You know, Frank, either Prude or you or me had the same chance that kid did to kill Barnes. The court proved him guilty. That's good enough for me. Hey, you crazy critter, stop that. This local horse of mine starts nibbling on a shoemak bush. It's poison. You think he'd be able to see those greenish berries a mile away? Well, maybe the horse ain't got a sharp eye as you do, Frank. Well, come on, let's get moving. Yeah. Get up, you crazy coyose. Get up there. Them men tell anything? I don't know, Toddler. That's for the Lone Ranger to decide. Our next job is to trail Sam Ketch. This restaurant, we go in here. Sam Ketch just sat down and ordered something to eat. Come on, we'll follow him. Here's your order, Ketch, roast lamb. Good. I'm really hungry. You going to drink coffee? Yep. Coming right up. Hey, wait a minute. What's wrong? You're supposed to serve mint sauce with this meat, not cranberry. That's mint sauce? Same, either. Don't even have to taste it. I can tell by the color. What are you trying to do? Move somebody around here. Mint sauce. Green, cranberry. Well, I guess we've checked everything, Toddler. Now we go to camp. Ten Lone Rangers. Sure. Come on. Of course, Johnny Hickins had no way of knowing what Dan Reid and Toddler would have done, or what the Lone Ranger had made of the information they'd given him. Johnny's attention was riveted on the clock. Only one minute of life remained. Sixty more seconds and... Time's almost up, Sheriff. Yes. You'd better go up there and fix the news, Jim. Hate to do this, kid. Yeah, wait a minute, Jim. Who makes you? Oh, boy. Oh, there. Sheriff Carter? They're right here. What is it? Yeah, I hope I'm not too late. Here's the note. Yeah, give it to me. Something for the governor, Sheriff? No, it's not from the governor. Oh, let's get on with the hanging. They're not yet. A good friend of mine, the man who wrote this note, has suggested something. Oh, what do you mean? He sent a small piece of colored pasteboard with this note. Here. I want all of you men to look at it. Go on, examine it. Well, there ain't no sense to this, Sheriff. Why? Holding up a legal hanging while the witnesses look at a piece of green pasteboard. Huh? Say that again, Sam. I say this little hunk of green pasteboard ain't got nothing to... I thought I heard you right. You're under arrest, Sam. Don't go for your gun. I've got you covered. Me? What you're arresting me for? Murder. I'm arrested the man who really murdered Charlie Barnes. But I... You can't prove a thing on me. Yes, I can. You just proved it by yourself. That little piece of cardboard in your hand catches red, not green. Bring the trigger down, Jim. There won't be any hanging this morning. What happened? Dan Reed told me some of it, but not all. What'd he say? Remember when Sam Catch remarked about your dress the night your uncle was killed? Yes. That's the first thing that made the Lone Ranger suspicious. But how did... I guess Sam Catch had been figuring on killing your uncle for a long time. It was a grudge he'd had for years. And he decided to frame me. Oh. Well, that was easy. I was always arguing with Mr. Barnes about you and me getting married. Catch even went so far as to buy a pair of cufflinks just like mine and leave one of them on the floor of your living room. That wasn't your cufflink. It looked like mine. All except the seton. That was red instead of green. Well, how did that prove anything? That's the part I don't understand, Melissa. All I know is the Lone Ranger is the only one who figured out that Sam Catch and the murder were both colorblind. Or you have just heard as a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.