 The firey horse with the speed of light, the cloud of dust, and a hearty high old silver, the lone ranger. With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains 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. Come out of the past, come the thundering hoof beat to the great horse silver. The lone ranger rides again. When John Colton saw his younger brother Harvey descend from the stage in Newton, he was glad that he had brought the buffboard. Harvey's pallor was startling in contrast with the bronzed westerners around him, and even the slightest movement seemed to be an effort. But John made no comment on his brother's health during the drive to the ranch, and neither did his wife when she finally greeted them from the ports of the ranch house. Oh, there, oh. Is this Mary? Suffer down the table so you can ride in and start eating while John takes care of the horse. But can I help? Not in your life. I won't be a minute. All right. I'm glad to meet you, Mary. Same here. We want you to feel this is your home. Ah, that's easy. I haven't got any other anyway. And we don't mean just to stay for a while. It's really honest to goodness, your home. I can't tell you how glad John was when he got your letters saying you'd like to come out. I was afraid it wouldn't be a good idea. I don't know anything about ranching. You're going to spend your time eating and sleeping and maybe learning to ride. I can ride. I mean, Western style. A Western saddle and Western horses make a lot of difference. It won't take long to get on to, though. You'll be covering half the country in no time. I think I'll stick to eating and sleeping for a while. I've had enough traveling. You were mighty fast with that team, Johnny. It's good to see you, Harvey. It's great to be here. Tell me, John, does all this land belong to you? Yeah, you've only seen a little bit of it. You must be wealthy. Rather than it comes to cash, no. I've got plenty of land and cattle. You must have. And we're getting the herd ready for market now. And that's all. They'll have money, too. You're lucky. I guess so. I'll have to show you all around the place, Harvey. You let him get rested first. Well, I'm interested, Mary. I'm interested in everything. Then prove it by showing some interest in that state. Yes, ma'am. Yeah, let me help you. The best good food and healthy life outdoors worked a great change in Harvey during the next few weeks. In appearance, he might have been one of the cowboys on the Lazy Sea. John and Mary were gratified, and one morning at breakfast, John had a suggestion. How far did you ride, you say, Harvey? Oh, to, uh, to Forsterville and Bag. Yes, fine. Are you tired? Not much. I must say you're looking better. What do you say you try your hand at doing a little work? Work? Uh, what kind of work? Anything at all, at first. Just something to get your hand in. Oh, I, uh, I haven't told you the truth exactly, John. What do you mean? I rode to Forsterville, all right, but I had to stop a lot and rest. I've been trying to make you think I'm a lot better than I really am. Here's some more flat jigs. Of course, if you figure that I've been eating too much and I ought to pay my way I'll do my best to pay my way. What's going on here? What's all this talk about? I guess John figures a charity can go just so far. Yeah, we won't say anything more about it, eh? You're sure I won't be too much of a burden? Why, the idea... If I postpone going to work a little? You'll never be a burden, Harvey. Uh, just take it easy. All right. I think it'll sound foolish to you, John. I'd better lie down for a little. Sure. Just, uh, just take it easy. John Colton, aren't you ashamed of yourself? Yes, ma'am, but I didn't mean it the way he took it. He looks a lot better. I thought he might want to do some work. You let him decide about that. I will. Only... Only what? Well, we could use another hand. Then hire one. I can't marry. I haven't got the money. It'll be a month and a half before we get the herd to Dodge City. Until then, I won't be able to pay the boys a half. Not that they mind. Trust me, but they're supplies, too. Can't you borrow some money from the bank? I already have, but... Well, maybe I can get some more. I can't spare the time to go and return the day, but I'll write in tonight and have a talk with... with Greg Dean at his own. Well, that's a lot better than picking on your brother. I didn't mean too many. I promise I won't ever do it again. It was nearly midnight when John Colton returned from town that night, but Mary was waiting up for him. Sit down at the table. I got some coffee. Good. Where's Harvey? He went to sleep a long time ago. Here, drink this. You don't have to be too old, do you? Nope. He said the bank had all the money loaned out they could afford. It took you a long time to find that out. Well, I rode back slow, and when I cut by the creek to have a look at the herd, they find cattle. Sure they are. And as soon as they're sold, we'll have plenty of money. But until then... We'll get along somehow. Don't you worry about it. The Lone Ranger and Tonto were riding slowly down the deserted main street of Newton. There's a light in the bank. It's late. Perhaps we better take a look. Maybe so. Banker at desk. He isn't working. He either fallen asleep or... Let's try the door, Tonto. He isn't locked. You go in? Safe open. Yes, I see. He isn't sleeping, Tonto. He's dead. Yes, he used a knife. He's dead in nearly two hours. There's something in his hand. A button. A fancy button. Many cowboy wear a button like that. But this was ripped off while a dean was struggling for his life. Why isn't there some thread or even a piece of cloth attached to it? Let's look around. There's something white on the floor. It's too large. Interesting though, Tonto. Why little handkerchief? I'll show him not to make noise. Cowboys don't use white little handkerchiefs. And neither did Mr. Dean. See, here's a band down in his pocket. What do you think? I don't know. We'll have to tell the sheriff what's happened. He'll know you plenty well. You'll give him what evidence we've found. You help find Crook? Well, we'll do what we can. Come on. The masked man and Tonto reported to the sheriff who knew them. And the lawman investigated the scene of the crime at once. Then he sent all his deputies to see what information they could find. Half an hour later, he met with them in his office. The lone ranger and Tonto waited in a small room in the rear where they could hear and not be seen. All right, Pete. What'd you find out? There's a thousand dollars missing from the safe. A hundred dollar bills. He says he has the numbers on him. Good. What about you, Al? I went to see his housekeeper like you told me. She finished up this supper dishes about eight o'clock and said good night to Dean and went over to her own place. Was Dean alone when she left him? Nope. John Colton had just come in. John Colton. Did anybody see him leave the place? Not that I could find out. Did anybody see Dean go from his house to the bank? I woke up some of the boys who were at the cafe earlier, but they didn't see him. Of course, it's just a step from his house to the bank. Well, it looks as if John Colton was the last one who saw him alive. I guess there's nothing for it, but to ride out to the lazy scene and have a talk with him. Yeah, I'm going to get out there right now. At the backway tunnel, the heading for the lazy scene will beat them there. John, there's somebody knocking at the front door. Yes, I hear him. I'm getting into some clues. What do you suppose it is at this time of night? I don't know. Maybe the kettle. I hope not. All right, all right. I'm coming. Hold your horses. What's up, John? The whole house by now. Light the lamp on the table. All right. It's you. Sorry to bust in on you this way, but there's been a murder. A what? Greg Dean, John, I'll have to ask you some questions. Greg Dean? It can't be. I saw him just about three hours ago. I know you did. At least we know you were at his house tonight. Are you sure you only left him three hours ago? Really? If that clocks, right? If it's that fast one. It's right. And it was just about three hours ago Greg was killed. You're not seeing. I had anything to do with it. You just tell us what happened. Well, I went in to see him. Got to his place. It passed eight or so. We talked until 10.30. What did you talk about? The money. I wanted to borrow some. What did Greg say to that? He couldn't let me have any. It took him two hours to say that? Well, I put up some arguments, naturally. Oh, I did. And he had a few of his own. He was all friendly. He wanted to make me understand why he couldn't let me have the money. And did you understand? Pretty well. Where did you leave him? Well, I found him at his house. Did he say anything about going over to the bank? No. Yeah. Did you see anybody around his house when you came out? No. Not that I remember, anyway. What did you do then? I came straight home. When did you get here? About 12.30. Did you hear me come in, Harvey? Yeah, I woke up, but I don't know what time it was. It was 12.30. Two hours to get out here from town? I took it easy. I rode down by the creek. Here, John. What if you shouldn't look decent? I don't know whether I want to look decent. Put it on. Sure. Look at the shirt. Speaking of clothes, John, do you own any white linen handkerchiefs? What do you think I am, a dude? Not when you've got a button that don't match on a shirt. Why did you lose a fancy one? Well, Beck, I forget. Could it be three hours back? It was three days. I sewed the odd one on myself. What do you say to that, Harvey? Why ask me? I can't say I even noticed an odd button on that shirt. Of course you didn't. Because there wasn't one till tonight. Hey, tell you what. Sorry, John. This year, a button was found in the dead man's hand. The evidence is all against you, so I got to arrest you for the murder of Greg Dean. Won't do that. 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. On the night John Colton was arrested, the Lone Ranger and Tonto made their camp close to Newton. Late though it was, the masked man sat beside their fire until it burned to embers. Only then did he stir and speak to his companion. Tonto, you saw and heard what happened in the Colton living room. That button might have been left in the bank to incriminate John. Harvey Colton could have picked it up sometime. He'd been in bed when Banker got killed. He was not saying he did it, but he might have been mixed up in it. Remember those saddle clothes we felt out in the Colton shed? Two of them were still damp. That means two people from the ranch house were riding last night. Hello. I have a feeling there's someone else involved in this. John Colton waited in jail for the circuit judge to arrive and conduct his trial. A week passed. No more evidence was found against him, and the town refused to believe him guilty. It seemed unlikely a jury could be found to convict him. But then one afternoon, the sheriff walked into the general's store and found Harvey Colton in a heated argument with a storekeeper. Tonto was standing near them. I won't stand for any situations like that. Come on outside. I got no fight with you, but all I said was... I heard what you said. What's the matter here? He called my brother a murderer. I did not. Let's get it straight from the first. What happened? Harvey come in here and ordered some supplies. This stuff. I asked him if he had any money. Yeah, there's nothing wrong in that. I've been giving John credit, and I was willing to give him a little more. Harvey said he had plenty of money, and he gave me this $100 bill. Let me see. Where did you get this, Harvey? Mary gave it to me. She got it from Smith and Daniels in Dodge City. In advance on the cattle we're selling them. All I said was, this is the first time I ever heard of Smith and Daniels giving anybody an advance. Which is just the same as saying John got the bill from the bank and that he killed Greg Dean. No such thing. How big in advance was it, Harvey? I... Give me that bill. Not to the answer me. It's a thousand dollars. It's just the amount that was stolen from the bank. I don't care whether it was or not. Mary said it came from Dodge City, and I believe her. I want to believe her, but I gotta make sure. Yeah, take it. You're giving it back to me? With the time being, yes. You say the sheriff went to the telegraph office, Tonneau? That's right. Is that a wire to Dodge City? Maybe so. Tonneau, hear him say. Answer comes soon. Bring to office. You should have it by now. It's nearly dark. There can be only one answer. He'll be riding out to the Colton Ranch soon. Here's Silver. Here's Scout. We go there. Yes, Tonneau. Is that a big fella? Well, on Harvey Colton must be watched all the time. Come on, Silver! Get off the couch! Is this the money, Mary? Every bit of it. All hundred dollar bills. It came from Dodge City. Not from Smith and Daniels. Read the telegram again. They said they never sent you any money. You've got to be placing custody. Tell you what, Mary, I'll place you in my wife's custody. You pack up some things tonight, and I'll be out in the morning to take you into town. Who stayed our place? The room where Harvey sleep is on the other side of the house. The window's probably open just as this one is. Go through his room and see if you can find a knife. Any kind of a knife. I'll do it. There goes the sheriff. Now, here's what I got in mind, Mary. What's the use of anything? They're not gonna hang John. How can we stop them? He's gonna break out of the jail. I can fix it up. I got a friend who'll help me. You might get shot. Both you and John might get killed. No, not a chance. And I've been thinking, you're mixed up in this yourself, Mary. Maybe you better go away, too. But the sheriff... You'll find it easy to slip out of the sheriff's house. I'll have horses and everything ready and waiting for you. I want to go wherever John goes. What about the money, though? My friend can get some. And what about the ranch? I'll stay here and take care of it. You and John better go to San Francisco. I'll send you more money there. I hate to run away. It's an even all. It's not for good. Sooner or later, they're bound to find the real killer. And you and John can come back. You're sure... I'll fix everything. It'll take a few days, but... you just leave everything to me. Hold on, hold on. Easy big fella. Yes, Sheriff? I want to tell you. You got the money that was stolen from the bank. Yes, I know. Mary Colton had it. That proves you were wrong about John. I don't think so. Harvey Colton came here from Chicago, didn't he, Sheriff? Yeah. Well, you wire the Chicago police if they have any information on him. Harvey didn't have anything to do with this. Perhaps not. But as a favor, Sheriff, will you do what I've asked? I'll do it. I may not get a reply for a couple of days, though. That should be soon enough. City, easy silver. I'll see you then. Come on, silver. The loan ranger learned that Harvey had sent a message to Dodge City. Acting on that, he had Toronto waiting at the station for the arrival of the Dodge City State and a certain passenger. Whoa! Oh, my! Oh, you're very bold! You come from Dodge City? Yeah. What about it? What's it to you, Indian? We got a message from a fella named Harvey Colton. Colton? You know him? You right, fella? Keep your voice down and give me the message. Him say, meet him at Old Shack on Whitewater Canyon. Meet him tonight. Midnight. Yeah, thanks. I'll be there. Ponto rode away from the station and hurried to Harvey Colton. That was Colton stepped down from the porch. Oh, God! Oh, God! What do you want around here, Indian? Looking for someone? You Harvey Colton? Yeah. He looked for you. For what? Tell her to get off Dodge City Stage. Him send him Toronto with a message for you. Oh, I see. Well, what's the message? Him say, you meet him in Old Shack on Whitewater Canyon. Meet him tonight. Midnight. All right, Indian. Thanks. Get off the couch! Roger. I see you here ahead of time. Yeah. I found this candle. Might as well have some light. Well, if you'd rather not. There's nobody around here. There's nothing around here but woods. And an awful time find under place. Why couldn't we have met at the hotel the way we did before? It wasn't my idea. You know, who's was it? Well, it was yours, of course. You crazy. I know sooner get off the stage than an Indian gives me a message from you. That's funny. To meet you here at midnight. Same message. Probably from the same engine. What does it mean? And there's no point in taking any chances. Get out of here right away. Well, we might as well get a few things. No, not here. I'll see you later. At least tell me how things are going. They couldn't be better. We'll talk as we ride back to town. Come on. Sorry I'm late, gentlemen. Come on. Mask man. You don't mind. Let's go back and sit down. He's got a gun. I see it. All right. Roger, sit on the bench. Make yourselves comfortable. This may take a little time. Now, what's your game? We haven't got any money. No, but you will have. Why have you brought us here? To explain that, I'll have to tell you a little story. We haven't got time to listen to a lot of talk. This gun says you do. Keep quiet. I'll make it brief. A young man came out worse to visit his brother. He said that he'd been in the hospital. He'd really been in a prison. Why are you... Quiet, I've only started. The young man saw his brother's ranch. It was a good ranch. He decided he'd like to have it for himself. And when he heard that his brother was going to see the banker about a loan one evening, he thought of a way to get it. He had a friend who was staying in the town where the banker lived. And a friend agreed to help him. He was in the hotel. He must have been... Keep your mouth shut. The plan was simple. All they had to do was wait until the brother had gone home and kill the banker and make it look as if the brother had done it. I was in bed when Greg Deem was murdered. You went to bed early. But you left the ranch house by way of your bedroom window. You're out in the town after your brother. You can't prove anything. I don't have to. I'm only telling you what I know. You weren't satisfied to have your brother in jail. You wanted to incriminate his wife as well. So you sent her a package of stolen money. How could I do that? I never left town. Garrett did it. My name is Smith. It's Garrett in Chicago. You keep quiet, Smith. Well, that isn't quite the end of the story. The young man is afraid that a jury may free his brother. So he's planning to help him escape from jail. The brother and his wife will leave the country. The young man will have the ranch all to himself. Just what do you want? $20,000 when you sell the cattle would be more than enough. Why should I pay you $20,000? One thing, I have this gun. I can use it whenever I want to. For another, I can get your brother out of jail. That's necessary to your plan. He can still be acquitted, you know. And you want him out of the country. If you agree to arrange the jailbreak, it's a deal. But I don't trust you, Harvey. Before I go through with it, you'll have to sign this paper. What is it? A confession. Not on your life. You're blackmailing from not a kingdom come. You have no proof as it is. Oh, yes, I have. I have this knife. Oh, it's my knife. The knife that killed Greg Dean. I use carrots. Now who's talking? Both of you enough anyway. Come in, Sheriff. I never thought they'd make a break. I didn't say anything. You can't get me for murder. I'm trying to make them lay off with a knife. Did you hear that, men? They'll keep talking, Sheriff. You tore under arrest for the murder of Greg Dean. I only said what I did because... Look, are you gonna let that outlaw escape? I think so. This time. What kind of a sheriff are you? It could be better. If I ever get to be, it's outlaws like him that'll show me how. I'll do that. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporator.