 With his faithful Indian companion, Tato, 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. From out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again! The stage from Red Rock to Hilton on the last stretch of its journey from St. Louis was still a few miles away from its destination. As it swayed and bumped along the narrow trail, Dan Reed, fourteen-year-old nephew of the Lone Ranger who had ported the stage at Red Rock, glanced now and then at the only other passenger in the coach, a well-dressed young lady whose golden hair and fair complexion attracted Dan's attention. She had been dozing when Dan got on, but now she was awake, and from time to time she looked at Dan and half smiled. Finally, she spoke. You seem quite young to be traveling alone. Oh, I live out this way. I'm used to riding the stage, ma'am. Really? I should think your mother would worry about you. My mother isn't alive in the North. Oh. I'm so sorry. Well, that's all right. I'm well taken care of. Oh, I'm glad to say. Do you live in Hilton? Not exactly. I'm staying near there for a while with a friend. Oh. By the way, my name is Edna Murray. I'm going out to visit my uncle at the Circle Bar Ranch. I know where that is. My name is Dan Reed. Well, Dan, I hope we'll meet again after we get to Red Rock. Do you know my uncle, Clem Murray? No, ma'am, but I've heard of him. The Circle Bar is a big spread, one of the biggest out this way. Really? I didn't know that. Though I did know it was quite prosperous. Going to stay here long, Miss Murray? That depends upon Uncle Clem. I'd like to stay in the West permanently if possible. Collie, I'll bet he'll be glad to have you at the ranch. The way you say that is almost a compliment, Dan. Well, if I were your uncle, I'd want you to stay. Actually, Clem Murray isn't my uncle. You see, I was an orphan too, and Uncle Clem's brother adopted me and raised me as his own. Oh, I see. Uncle Clem has a daughter of his own named Harriet. I met her once when we were much younger, but, well, we just didn't get along at all. Harriet is a year or two older than I am. Gosh, I don't see how she couldn't like you, Miss Murray. You have a nice way of saying things, Dan. I'd like to have you as a friend, and I do hope you'll try to come and see me while I'm with Uncle Clem. Collie, I sure will. Look, we're going over the bridge there. There's a creek at the edge of town. Oh, then we're almost there. Yes. Just a minute, we'll be at the stage stop. Will someone meet you, Miss Murray? Oh, I hope so. I telegraphed I was coming today. If they don't, I'll find a way to get you to the ranch. Thank you, Dan. That's very nice of you. Oh, here we are. Is Edna Murray in there? Uncle Clem, how are you? Fine, fine. Climb out, Edna. Harriet's waiting the buckboard over yonder. All right. Goodbye, Dan. Be sure to come out and see me. Oh, yes, ma'am. Oh, I'm so glad to get here. Well, you sure have grown into a beauty, Edna. Yes, sir. Now, Uncle Clem, none of that. Get out, Dan, and meet Uncle Clem. Right. Glad to meet you, sir. You come all away from St. Louis, too, boy? Oh, no, sir. I got on a red rock. Oh, well, I thought maybe Edna was bringing along her latest boyfriend with her. Oh, golly, no. If Dan were several years older, Uncle Clem, I might consider him as a boyfriend. He's especially nice. Gosh, thanks, Miss Murray. Maybe I can help with your baggage. Say now that's right. Nice of you, son. Here's the young lady's trunk coming down. Let her come, driver. Watch it. I got it. Here's a carpet bag. That's all she brought. I'll take the carpet bag to the buckboard. Oh, thank you, Dan. I reckon I can handle this trunk all right. Or there's Harriet in the buckboard right over yonder. Let's go. Now, sling that bag on, Dan. Yes, sir. Well, Harriet, here's your cousin, Edna. How do you do, Edna? Hello, cousin Harriet. I'm awfully glad to see you. Thank you. Edna, I'd prefer you don't call me cousin Harriet. We really aren't cousins, you know. Of course, Harriet, just as you wish. I want you to meet a young friend of mine, Dan Reed. We met on the stage. How do you do, Miss Marie? Of course, in this case, it's just a boy, Edna. But you should be more careful about taking up with everyone you meet. Get in, please. I'm tired of waiting. Now you get off on your high horse, Harriet. Here, let me help you, Edna. Thank you, Uncle Clam. I guess we can all ride comfortable on the front seats. One of us should ride him back. Never mind this time. Edna, I think you're old enough now to call Dad just Clam. Calling him Uncle is childish. Don't you think so? Maybe it is, but it's become a habit, that's all. And it's a habit I like, too. You call me Uncle all you want, because I am your uncle by adoption anyway. Well, let's get on our way. So long, Daniel. Goodbye, Dan. Come and see me. I'll come out soon, Miss Edna. Goodbye. Goodbye. Get up there. Get up now. Later that afternoon, Dan Reed arrived at the camp which he shared in the nearby hills with a lone ranger and tonto. Ho, ho, Victor, ho, boy, easy, fellas. Well, Dan, it's good to have you back. I'm glad to be back, sir. Oh, Dan, you have a good time. Yes, I did, Tom. I enjoy visiting Pop Hendricks. Oh, I met a nice girl coming back on the stage. A girl from St. Louis named Edna Murray. God, she was pretty. I see. How old is this pretty girl, Dan? Oh, she's quite old, sir, about 20 at least. Oh, I'm not like here, you see, that, Dan. I guess 20 does seem old to a boy of Dan's age. Where was the young lady going, Dan? She got off at Hilton. And she's out here to visit her uncle at the Circle Bar Range. He isn't really her uncle. She was adopted years ago by Clem Murray's brother in St. Louis. I see. I've heard of Clem Murray only at the Circle Bar. I think he's a widower. He has a daughter named Harriet. I don't like her at all. Really? Where did you meet her? In town, sir. Mr. Murray and his daughter came to meet Miss Edna. Miss Harriet was kind of well-unfriendly to the girl from St. Louis and said not to call her cousin or her father, Uncle. Mr. Murray said he didn't mind being called Uncle, though. What you say Harriet Murray doesn't seem to have very good manners. That's right. She looks cross and mean to me. I don't like her at all. So you said before. I hope she doesn't spoil Edna Murray's visit at the ranch. Cali, I thought of that too. Miss Edna asked me to come out there to see her. Do you think it'd be all right, sir? I'll see why not, Dan, if you want to go. Gee, I think I'll ride out there tomorrow then. Anyway, I want her to look at Victor. Does she like horses? I'm sure she'll like Victor. And he'll like her too, I'll bet. Anyway, I'll go out there tomorrow afternoon and let them get acquainted. The following afternoon, Dan left the camp on Victor and rode to the Circle Bar Ranch to see Edna Murray. As Dan turned off the trail onto the entrance road to the ranch, pleasant-faced young man on horseback turned in beside him. Easy, boy, easy there, easy. Hello there, son. Hope you're not going in here to pay court to Miss Harriet. She's sort of on my list. Oh, no, sir. I'm not going in to see Miss Harriet. I'm going to see the girl from St. Louis, Miss Edna. She's sort of a cousin to Miss Harriet. I didn't know anyone was here visiting. My name's Ned Hadley from the bar Y over yonder. Mine's Dan Reed. Someday when my ranch prospers, I hope to ask Miss Harriet to be my wife. She don't hang her to marry up with a poor man like I am right now. Gosh, why does that make any difference? That's something I can't figure out, Dean. Maybe those shall change your mind someday. I hope so, Mr. Hadley. Ah, here we are. Hold it. Hold it. Don't push it. Afternoon, Miss Harriet. I guess you met Dan, didn't you? Oh, yes, we've met. Oh, that's right. You're the boy who helped with the baggage in town, aren't you? Yes. Miss Edna said I could come out to visit her, so I thought. Poor Edna. I guess even a young boy like you is better than no company at all. She's in the kitchen helping to cook right now. I didn't know you had a visitor, Harriet, till Dan mentioned your cousin. Edna's just a poor relation, Ned. In fact, she's not really a relation at all. My uncle in St. Louis adopted her. My horse is already over at the corral, Ned. Shall we start on a ride? Well, maybe that is Miss Edna'd like to go along. Don't be silly. I'm sure she doesn't know the first thing about riding or anything else for that matter, except housework, perhaps. I bet she can do lots of things. Well, she has one champion anyway. You can go around to the back door, boy. Edna's back there in the kitchen, as I said before. Come on, Ned. Let's go for that ride. So long, Dan. Be sitting again. Bye, Mr. Hadley. Golly, I don't like her at all. I'll go around back now to see Miss Edna. Sorry to come around the side of the house. I'm awfully glad to see you. Thanks, Miss Edna. That's Miss Harriet and Mr. Hadley from the next ranch going out for a horseback ride. Do you ride, ma'am? No, Dan. I don't. I'm a little afraid to try. Gosh, I'd be glad to teach you. You could learn to ride on Victor. He's very gentle. Well, all right. When do we start? Golly, right now, if you say so. All right, come on. I'm sure you'll be a very good teacher, Dave. I know you'll learn quickly. In no time at all, you'll be a better rider than Miss Harriet is, I bet. For almost a month, Dan visited the Circle Bar Ranch and gave riding lessons to Edna Murray. One afternoon after he had left the camp, the lone ranger spoke to Toto. Dan says Miss Murray has learned to ride very well, Toto. They go riding every afternoon up along the river. I'd like to see for myself just how well Dan has taught her. Well, maybe if we go up there, we see him. Yes, we'll ride up that way. Come on. He's a big fella. Easy, fella. Come on, Toto, get him up to the count. Meantime, Dan and Edna followed the trail along the river. She was riding one of the ranch horses. And Dan watched proudly as he noted how easily she rode and how well she handled the horse. Gosh, Miss Edna, you sure did learn to ride well. Thanks to you, Dan. Well, we haven't come this far before. I haven't seen that wooden bridge up there over the river. That bridge isn't safe. The supports are all rotted. Look, someone's riding this way down the trail. Oh, it's Harriet and Mr. Hadley. Maybe they'll join us. Well, they see us. They've turned off the trail. Yes. I'm sorry Harriet feels that way about me. I was hoping that. Look, they're heading for that old bridge. We've got to stop them. It won't hold in the waters deep there. Hey, wait! Come back! They're riding onto the bridge. We've got to stop them. If we don't, they'll crash into the water. Come on, Victor. Get up there! 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 to continue our story. Riding down trail, Harriet Murray saw Edna and Dan in the distance. She spoke sharply to Ned Hadley. Ned, there comes Edna, and she has that boring whistle. Say, I thought you told me she didn't ride. Never mind that now. I don't want to meet them. We'll turn aside and go across that bridge over there. Now, look here, Harriet. No use acting that way. Won't do us any harm to her. You can stay and meet them if you like, but I'm going. Get up there. Now, come along, then. Get up. That bridge, is it safe? Don't look any too strong. If you're afraid, go back with them. Get up there. I'll stick with you, Harriet. Better take it easy. I don't think this bridge will hold it. Harriet, the bridge is giving way under us. Dan and Edna were still several hundred yards away when they heard the bridge crashing. The bridge had fell with them. Come on, Victor. Terrible. Get up, Victor. Natalie's clean to a plank. He seems to be hurt. I'll try to help. Hasteily, Dan and Edna removed their boots and jackets. Then, for a moment, they paused on the edge of the river and looked out over the water. Can you swim well, Dan? Yes, ma'am. Good, so can I. You see what you can do for Ned. I know Harriet can't swim a stroke. I'll go and try to bring her in. Come on. The lone ranger and tanto had taught Dan Reed to be an expert swimmer. And as Dan and Edna swam toward Harriet and Hadley, the boy noticed that Edna, too, was an expert in the water. Within a few minutes, they reached the two victims of the bridge crash. Edna gave her attention to Harriet, who was struggling desperately to stay on the surface while Dan went to Hadley. Come on, she's unconscious. Must be hurt. I'll grab that blog and try to hold him up. Help! No! Oh, you're dragging me under the cover. Can't you swim? No. No, he's too much for me. I'll have to have help her. He'll slip away for good. Meanwhile, a short distance away, the lone ranger and tanto had been riding behind Dan and Edna. They saw and heard what happened, and the lone ranger spoke quickly. The other two went down with the bridge, tanto. And the girl dived into help. Come on, Hadley! Get him up, scout! Me see him. And the Dan's go to the other girl. Yes, and Dan's trying to help the man. Hold him up. Easy, Scott. Easy. The blonde girls bring the other one to short, tanto. Help the man out of the water. I'll go to Dan and the man. Good. He helps. Hold on, Dan. I'm coming to help. Hey! He's hurt! Keep his head above water. He's unconscious. He must have hit his head. Too heavy for me. I'll take him in. Can you make it to short, Dan? Yes, I guess I'll be all right. Then get going. I'll bring in Hadley. On the shore, tanto waited until Edna was close enough with Harriet. Then he waited in and helped bring them out. He kept the girls in short. Thanks, Doc. I had the hitter to keep her from pulling me under. You bloody good swimmer. He put the girl down here. Oh, Matt. I'm almost exhausted. But Dan and Mr. Hadley, I have to... No, no. You, not get up. Then be all right. Oh. Now, here come Dan and friend-bringing man. I thought they were goners. Let me go help with young fella. Can you help now? You'll be all right. A slight blow on their head. Carry them there into the others. All right. Put him here, tanto. Why, he's mad. He's the friend I told you about, Miss Edna. Oh, oh, yes. We're so thankful you came along when you did. With the narrow escape for them both, the very lucky you and Dan could swim so well. Harriet, well, she didn't want to meet us, so they turned off the trail and started across the bridge. She's coming too now. Yes, she'll be all right. Please, no water. You're safe now, Harriet. It's all right. You... You struck me up there in the water. If you hadn't done that, I could have saved myself. It was easy to see you couldn't swim. He'll keep out of this boy. Edna just wanted to... What is he doing here? He saved Ned Hadley's life. Isn't that enough? And Miss Edna saved yours. You ought to be grateful. Harriet. Harriet, I... Now, girl, all right. And you all right, too. I warned her that the bridge might not be saved. Oh, that's it. Blame me, Ned Hadley. I know that you didn't make a move to help me. You said you let Edna ask to have a ride. She's all right. Yes, I'm all right, Mr. Hadley. And you saved Harriet? Yes, she did. Golly, she sure can swim. That masked man in the Indian. They're friends. The masked man brought you in, Ned. I mean, Mr. Hadley. Dan and I tried to warn both of you about the bridge, but you paid no attention. Harriet insisted on going across. She didn't want to meet you and the boy. I know. Oh, Ned Hadley, you're despicable. I don't know why I put up with you coming around anyway. Yes, I've been sort of local for doing it at that. Well, this is no place to talk. I think we ought to get to the ranch as quickly as possible and change into dry clothing. Yes, we can double up on the horses. The other two horses swam to shore and are probably on the way to the ranch right now. All right, let's get going. With Harriet riding with Edna and Ned riding with Dan, the group went to the Circle Bar Ranch. As they pulled up in front of the ranch house, they saw a rider coming at a fast pace. Hold it. Hold it. Come on. I'm on coming in a hurry. It's one of the men from my place. Oh, there. You better come and pick the ranchers on fire. On fire, my ranch? Yeah. I'll use Edna's horse. Men are doing all they can to stop. They'll go with you, Hadley. Dan, you stay here. Let's get going to the ranch. Hurry, Harriet. Get down. Oh, I suppose I have to. Get up there. Hold on. That's a big headway, Hadley. Better try to save the lives talking that the house go. Come on. We'll get to the barn. The barn had just begun to burn and the Lone Ranger and Tuttle with Ned's help made trip after trip into the smoke-filled building to lead out the horses. In spite of the mask, Hadley's men followed the Lone Ranger's orders and though the buildings were a total loss, the livestock were saved. Finally, after an hour of futile effort, Ned stood back and spoke to the Lone Ranger and Tuttle. Well, I guess that about wipes me out. Thanks to you, though, I saved the stock. That'll bring in a little money. I'm very sorry about your loss, Hadley. There wasn't much to be done to save the building. That's right. I'm going to ride over to the Circle Bar Ranch and talk to Harriet. I guess we set some hasty words this afternoon. Have to take the horse back, too. Yes, you were all in attention. Tuttle and I'll ride part of the way with you. All right, let's go. A short time later, Ned arrived at the Circle Bar and was in the living room talking to Harriet. Well, Harriet... lost about everything in the fire except the livestock. Thanks to Dan's two friends. Edna went with the boy and dad for the bathroom. They should be back soon. I'm glad they aren't here right now. I wanted to talk to you. Really? As far as I can see, there's nothing to say, Ned. Frankly, we're not suited for each other. So anything you might have to say wouldn't make any difference. I'm glad you feel that way, Harriet. Glad? Yes, you see, I wanted to part friends, but I came over to say it was all a mistake. You and I are going together, I mean. Well, Ned had me of all things. But you just said that you... Oh, it's really very funny. Before you were barely getting along at that rate. But now you're really dead broke. You don't think for a minute that I'd ever consider... Harriet, we couldn't help but hear the ruckus you're making as we came up the porch. Dan and I shouldn't have come in. Why not? Seems to me Dan's coming around here has meant a lot to all of us. Harriet, you were wrong about one thing. Tell the Ned off like you did. Well, it seems like Harriet don't want me around, and, well, we just didn't get along anyway like I come to tell her. Only she told me first. You mean you two were through going together, eh? Well, maybe that'll give you a chance with my niece, Edna. Dan, I have all the things to say. I'm going to my room. You shouldn't reason with me. I'm going to my room. You shouldn't really joke with Harriet like that. I wasn't joking, Edna. I've noticed the way Ned's been watching you since you've been here. Well, now, Mr. Murray, if Dan wouldn't think I was trying to cut him out... Oh, golly, no. Now, just a minute. After all, I have something to say about all this. Of course, I'm sort of broke, and if you don't think I'm good enough to come calling on you, Miss Edna. Oh, Ned, I... Well, I'd be happy to have you call on me. It's just that I'm embarrassed to have Uncle Clem say... I was thinking of it long before he said anything. You've got to believe that, Edna. What about it? Oh, of course, Ned. I want you to... I mean, I... Oh, golly. That's more like it. It seems like Dan, with the help of those friends of his you spoke of, played cupid around here. Someday, Edna, when I get on my feet again, maybe... Well, you're putting things off, Ned. You know, someday, Edna will own half this ranch. And I think maybe you and me can get together tonight and make some sort of a deal for your land and what little livestock you have. Say, that's great. Oh, Uncle Clem. Oh, I'll get the best of the bargain, don't worry. Ned, you're lucky. Edna was willing to let you come courtin' even once you thought she didn't have a cent. You'll get along fine. Gosh, everything is sure turned out just about right. By the way, that masked man did so much for us, and I never did get to know who he is. Oh, I can tell you that, Ned. Dan told me he's known as the Lone Ranger. This is a feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated, created and produced by George W. Trendle, directed by Charles D. Livingston, and edited by Fran Stryker. Part of the Lone Ranger is played by Bracebeamer.