 a fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty, I.O. Silver, the lone ranger. A fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty, I.O. Silver, the lone ranger. I.O. Silver, the lone ranger. I.O. Silver, the lone ranger. But his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the masked rider of the planes, led the fight for law and earlier 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! Hurry, big fellow! Hail, Silver! The Lone Ranger, Tonto and Dan, have been enjoying a few days' rest at the ranch home of Mustang Mag. The purpose of the visit was to present Dan with a horse, a mount that would be his very own. Needless to say, the boy was excited when he first saw the frisky white coat. And he was more than proud when he learned that his horse was the son of Silver, the Lone Ranger's great white stallion. Dan had made several attempts to ride the unbroken coat, but so far he was unsuccessful. However, he kept on trying, and early morning generally found him in the corral instead of at the breakfast table. Stand still now. Pull this inch a little tighter. Don't go on it, stand still. I'm going to put this saddle on if it takes all day. Inside the kitchen of the Lone Rambling Ranch House, Mustang Mag was busy preparing breakfast. Good morning, Mag. Well, indeed it is a good morning. What do you say, Tonto? Me plenty hungry. Good, I figured you'd feel that way. Well, plant your feet under the table, boys, and I'll rustle more wheat cakes than you ever saw. Thanks, Mag. Where's Dan, isn't he up? Oh, that young one's been up since daybreak. He's out in the corral trying to put a saddle on his horse. Evidently, he believes in getting on the job early. That's a good sign. Oh, he's got plenty of sand, too. That white coyose has pitched him off a dozen times, but he's still trying. Look, he's going at it again. Come over here with a window, Tonto. Well, he finally got the saddle cinched. Now, if he can straddle it... I think you'll do it. Oh, that horse got plenty spirit. Him not like saddle, him throw Dan, him victor all the time. Dan will change that. Look, he's in the saddle. Maybe him pull leather to stay on. No, he won't, Tonto. Dan will ride him right, or not at all. Well, pretty good job so far. Now, if he can... Look, he's heading for the gate. Is it open? Well, sure it is. There he goes, boys, like it was shot out of a gun. Good. A long hard run is what the horse needs. Dan can stay on a while. He may be late for breakfast. The horse will know who his master is. That's right. Then sit down, boys. The grub's ready. Oh, by the way, Meg, where's Missouri? Doesn't he usually stop by about this time of the morning? Missouri? Well, the old scowl-wag is coming going. Is that right? Yeah, he was mosin' around here about daybreak. Got him away, so I sent him on an errand. Isn't it a little beneath the dignity of a county sheriff to be running errands? Oh, shucks. Missouri ain't got no dignity. No gumption either. Where did you send him? Over to Piper City. I got some household stuff over there. He's going to load it on a buckboard and bring it back. From sheriff to deliveryman, and all because of a woman. What'd you say? Oh, nothing, Meg. Nothing at all. [? ? ?] In the nearby town of Piper City, Matt Norton entered the drover's bank. Matt was a large man with strong and deeply tanned features. He spoke to many years. He'd spent out of doors. Most of it had been in the building of a double-T ranch, of which he was justly proud. Perhaps that was the reason his step was so firm. Why the Spanish court he carried in his right hand snapped with such emphasis. Good morning. Oh, good morning, Mr. Norton. Is Greg in? Yes, I'm sure Mr. Hullibus in his office. I'll just, uh, mad. I thought I heard somebody come in. Heard a whip cracking out here. Couldn't be anybody but you. Always carrying that Spanish court, aren't you? Yeah. Packing this court is more of a habit than anything else. What can I do for you, Matt? Plenty. The last time I was in here, it was to ask a favor. $10,000 mortgage on the double-T. Remember? You got the money, Matt. Sure. And I have kept up the interest, too. The only thing that riled me about that deal was that I had to take it sitting down. You stood up and dictated the terms. When a man's borrowing money, he has to take it any way it's given. Maybe so. But that's never been my way of doing business. I figure everybody's equal. You know, this is the first time I've known you felt this way, Matt. I'll remember it. I've got something else to get off my chest. If it's an extension on the mortgage, Matt, I'm afraid I- No, it's not that. It's something else. Matt, if we're going to talk business, let's go into my office, hm? What I want to tell you is this. In the meantime, Dan's early morning ride had carried him many miles from the ranch of Mustang Mag. It was over an hour later that the white horse apparently winded from his long run and the fruitless attempts to unseat the rider, answered Dan's stern tug on the bridle and headed for home. That's it, boy. Yeah, we'll go back home now and have some breakfast. Guess you know who's boss now. I said I'd ride you and I did. I didn't have to pull leather to do it, either. Good thing you've got all that bucking out of your system. I'm here on your back, and this is where I'm going to stay. Hey, what's the matter? Get up there. Get up, boy. Hey, now, wait a minute, boy. What's wrong? Oh, oh, I'm scared. That's what's wrong with him. He sees something over there. He's scared of him. Hey, wait a minute. You can't. Oh, God, I just threw me again. All because you're scared of nothing. There's nothing over here but sand and cactus. We're out here in the middle of a desert. I'll go and prove it. Well, oh, excuse me, mister. I didn't see you. I didn't know there was anyone around here. You see, my horse got scared, and I... Hey, wait. There's something wrong here. Why would a man be sitting out here in the middle of the desert like that? He's dead. Golly, this is the queerest thing I've ever heard of. I'll bet even a lone ranger never saw anything like it. I wonder my horse is scared. I don't blame him. There's nobody around here, and yet... Wait, what's this? It's a whip. A quart. Gee, it's a good one, too. Now, why would anybody want... Uh-oh. Easy, boy. Somebody's shooting at us. Boy, this is one time I'm glad you can run. Dan's been gone for over two hours. I wonder why he isn't back. Maybe he rode all the way into Piper City. Oh, no, Meg. Dan wouldn't go that far without telling me. Me here a horse now. That's not all, but it's not Dan. It's a team and a buckboard. It must be Missouri. Your coot should have been back here an hour ago. Oh, he's worse than any young one that ever lived. Come on. Folks, what took you so long? I could have walked to town fast and you drove that team. It made no call for you to talk like that. I think I made real smart time. Considering I had to load all this stuff and tie it all in a boot. Did you get everything I told you to? It's all right here. Three pilot chairs, fancy wash stand, dry goods box full of dishes or something that rattles. A horse hair sofa. Where's your rocker? My rocking chair. The one with the red plus trim on arms. Didn't you bring it? Sure I brought your rocking chair. Why, right? Eh, that's funny. It's gone. Missouri, you spab and naked old fossil. Where's that rocker? I swear I tied it on the back of the buckboard. I can't see how it got. Here, Missouri, here rope. It went through. Maybe the chair fell off, huh? I'll be a gopher's uncle. Sure, that's what happened, Meg. I had your chair last on there real good. But somewhere between here and Piper City and in my best rocker. And when I caught it all over the state of Texas for the last ten years, it was laying on a sand heap somewhere. Oh, Meg, don't get so riled up. I'll turn right around and go looking for it. Oh, no, you won't. First thing you'll do is unload what you got and burn in the house. Well, get a move on. Oh, losing something as big as a rocking chair. All the head will burn half-witted. There just ain't no way of ever pleasing that woman. Never mind Missouri. That'll now help you carry these things into the house. Then we'll go with you to look for the chair. That very moment, in little shack at the edge of Piper City, two hard-faced men were congratulating themselves upon a job well done. You know, Red, I'd say we handle that thing pretty slick. Well, sure, Pete, but we didn't bring back what the boss wanted. He's labeled a beef about that. Ah, let him beef. Is it our fault the old gent didn't have it on him? No, but he won't. We're running that chair and how we used it. He couldn't have done any better himself. Yeah, maybe so, but seemed kind of crazy to me. Oh, trouble with you, Red, as you haven't gotten the imagination. Won't you see how slick that chair worked in with what the boss told us about? You're forgetting a kid that came along and found it. What about him? That one rifle shot scared him to death. I bet he's still running. I don't care what happens, just as long as I get paid. All right, all we have to do is lay low and laugh to dark, and then go see the boss. Here comes Dan. Ah, him ride horse good now. Hold it, boy, hold it. Congratulations, Dan. I see you're riding the horse instead of being thrown. Well, I rode him all right, but he threw me again. He did. Where? Out on the trail. Out in the desert between here and Piper City. Hello, Dan. How are you, son? I'm glad you're here, but you're... What's that you have in your hand, Dan? Oh, it's a court. A real Spanish court, see? I hope you haven't been using this on the horse. Oh, no, I haven't been using it at all. I just found it out there in the desert. Well, Missouri, you're going to stand here and gab all day. You're going out and look for my rocking chair. That rat is mad. I'm going. Guess what? Did you say something about a rocking chair? Missouri lost one that belongs to me. At least he says he lost it somewhere between here and town. With some kind of red cloth on the arms? That's it. I know where it is. It's in a little cleared spot by the side of the trail. About five miles from here. Didn't I tell you, Meg? You just fell off the buck board and landed safe. That's why I hurried back here as quick as I could. What do you mean, Dan? Did you know it belonged to Mustang Meg? Well, no, but I wanted to tell you what I'd seen. That rocking chair is out there in the middle of the desert. There's a man sitting in it. A man? And he's dead. There's a bullet hole right between his eyes. The curtain falls on the first act of tonight's Lone Ranger story. Before the next exciting scenes, please permit us to pause for just a few moments. Continue our story. Dan's startling announcement about finding a dead man in Mustang Meg's lost rocking chair brought swift action. Within a short time, the five writers, following Dan's directions, rained up sharply beside a little clearing on the desert. Oh! Oh! Oh! There it is. He's still there. Let's take a closer look. It's my chair, all right. I'm sure if you hadn't lost it... I never figured on anything like this. Dan was right. He'd been shot between the eyes. But how did he get here, and who is he? Who is he, Missouri? Do you know? It's Matt Norton. That's right. Matt Norton owns a double tee, about 10 miles west of here. Who'd want to kill Matt? Oh, ain't you the critter who was blattin' about being an arm of the law? Arms are supposed to answer questions not to ask them. Look, look, Kema-Sumby. Pockets all pulled out. Yes, I noticed that, Tando. It's been a robbery. Why would anyone take the trouble to prop the body up in this chair? Oh, poor old man. Oh, stop groanin', Missouri, and do somethin'. What'll I do? Well, find out who killed him! Dan, you said someone fired at you. From which direction did the shot come? Right over there, on that rise. That's razor-back heel. And that Spanish quart. What did you pick that up? About 10 feet from where you're standing. There are no signs of any struggle. You must have thrown the whip over there. Don't make any sense to me. Nothing makes sense to you, Missouri. The first thing to do is take the body into town and turn it over to the undertaker. Dan, you help Missouri. Sure. Todd and I'll go over to razor-back heel and try to pick up a trail. Here, Silver. Come, Scout. I just remembered something. What's that, Meg? Matt Norton's daughter, the only Kenny had. She'll be all alone now. Oh, come on. Get it myself later. No telling what would happen if I depended on you. You'll see at the ranch house about sundown. Come on, Todd. Come on, sir. It was several hours later at the rear of the drover's bank that a small door opened and closed quickly. Pete, what are you doing here? I told you never to use that door in the daytime. Oh, town's busy talking about the murder. So I've heard. I suppose you and Red want your money. That was the deal, boss. You put it on the line and Red and me will be drifting. Very well. Give me what you took from Norton after you killed him. That wasn't much. A few dollars and an old gun that's hardly worth packing. Say, uh, boss, that was my idea about using a rockin' chair we found out there. I remembered what you said about this old gent. Hate to sit down and say... Very clever, Pete. Poetic justice. What's that? Never mind. Give me what you found in this pocket and I'll pay you off. Well, I tell you, we didn't find nothing. Wasn't on him. We searched good. Are you lying to me? Honest, boss. It wasn't there. It must have been. Oh, then someone else reached him. Oh, we did? Ah, you're talking crazy now. Got to have it. Everything depends on it. Let's see if it wasn't in his car. Red and I even hung around there for a while after we put him up in that rockin' chair. Nobody come long except a kid riding a white horse. He was scared to death when he saw the old man. Picked up the old gent's quirk beneath... Quirk? That's it. Why didn't I think of it before? Where is it now? Well, I just got through telling you. A kid come along and picked it up. Well, I don't know. I never saw him before. Must live around here someplace. Find him. Get that quirk at all costs. I'll pay $500 for it. You will? $500 plus the money you have coming now. Boss, old man Norton's quirk is as good as in your hand right now. Dark, Dan. We'd better be getting on out to the ranch. Nothing more we can do here in town anyway. I'll get out the livery stable and get the horse assailant. Sure. I'll be alone just as soon as I clear up a couple things here at the office. I'll wait for you at the stable. I think they'd leave a lantern burning around the stable so they could see where you're going. Who are you? You look like a kid who could use some ready cash. Do I? Saw you walking down the street. That quirk you're carrying. How much do you want for it? I don't want to sell it. I'll give you $5. Listen, I want that quirk. Either you sell it or I'll take it. Don't. It's a draft of my arrest. Give it to me. You little cryo, you'll get these weapons like this. I'll tear you to shreds. Dan, is that you? He's trying to steal the quirk. There he goes. I'll stop him. Who was it, Dan? I don't know. He wanted the quirk. First he tried to buy it. Then he was going to steal it. Anyway, let's hurry and ride out to Mustang Mags. The lone ranger will want to hear about this. I tried to force you to give up the quirk. What did he look like, Dan? Well, I couldn't see his face very well. It was dark there, but stable. But I'll bet I could recognize him now. How's that? You told me not to use this on the horse. But you didn't say anything about not using it on a thief. I see. Let me see that quirk, Dan. Here. That's an ordinary Spanish quirk. Played it raw high and no wooden handle. Thousands of them just like it. This one must have something to do with Matt Norton's murder. Did you and Tonto pick up a trail over on Razorback today? There wasn't enough to follow, Missouri. That's some hoof prints that led back to the main trail to Piper City. I went over to the double T this afternoon and talked to Cassie, Matt Norton's daughter. Poor Lambs. She's all broken up about her pa dying. That's too bad. Worst part of it is she's going to lose the double T. What's that? A mortgage. $10,000. Last week he sold all his stocks so we could pay it off. He must have had all that cash with him today when he was robbed and killed. Who holds a mortgage on the double T? Greg Toliver at the drover's bank. Pretty soon that skin flint will own every ranch in the valley. Matt Norton might have paid off that money before he was killed. Nope. Greg was out to see Cassie today. He said her pa came into the bank this morning, but he didn't pay any money. He was eating his pocket when we found him out there. I sure wish I could catch the farmers who did that killing. Maybe you can, Missouri. What? I want you to ride into town, find the home of Greg Toliver, the banker. Tell him Miss Norton is here at Mustang Mags place that she wants to see him at once. Very important. And when you leave, you'd better double back and trail him out here. Just in case he brings someone else with him. How to go? Why do you want that scallywag Toliver to come out here? I want him to walk into this room and find Matt Norton's Spanish quilt lying on the table. What's the quilt got to do with it? I don't know, Missouri, but I intend to find out. Now, when Toliver gets here, we'll all wait in the next room. It's from Miss Norton. Norton? What's the message? Well, she at Rancher Mustang Mag. She wants you to come there. Plenty quick. It's important. Why, what's so important? Me not know. Me just bring message. All right. You come to Rancher Mustang Mag? Yes, I guess I'll come. Ah, that good. Pete, Radge, you hear that? Norton, ain't that the daughter of the old gent that was in the rocking chair today? Yes. Why does she want to see me? Maybe the old man left a will or something like that. No, there wasn't a will of it. And if I don't go, it looks suspicious. Well, what's the matter, boss? But you're scared. Nothing. Why should I be scared? It might be better for both of you to ride out there with me. I'll be right outside while I'm talking to Miss Norton. Anything you say, boss? Come on, let's get going. Somebody coming now. More than one horse, too. Good. I'm glad Tonneau's trailing them. Put the quer on the table, Dan. We'll be waiting in the next room. Sure. You want me to vamos too? Of course he does. Old Horan told what good it would be. Hurry, hurry and be quiet. Here he comes. Well, he seems to be deserted. I wonder what the Norton girl is doing over here. I think she might... Court. This is Matt Norton's court. Now I'll see if I can... That's what I thought, Tolliver. I didn't know the exact place. Mask? Who are you? Someone who's as interested as you are in the riding court that belonged to Matt Norton before he was murdered. Where's Miss Norton? She sent for me. She isn't here. I sent that message to get you out here. You sent it? Hand me the court. I know now what you're looking for. This whip belongs to me now. I own the double T and everything on it. Hand over the court. If you take another step, I'll... Well, or not reach for a gun, Tolliver. Boy, you... You asked for it? I won't do any good to yell. Whoever came out with you won't be able to help. Hello? Me catch two crooks. Good. Now all I want to know is who killed Matt Norton. I don't know anything about it. That man there with a cut on his face. He's the one who tried to steal the court from me. Keep them covered, Miss Ory. Sure. Oliver, aren't you anxious to get this court because you think it might contain proof that you murdered Norton? I didn't do it. How can that measly court prove anything? I noticed that Mr. Tolliver was twisting the handle. He must have guessed the same thing I did. What? It's hollow. The handle's hollow. That's right, Dan. And inside is a mortgage on the double T ranch. It's canceled and marked, paid and full. Signed, break Tolliver. Well, glory be. Then Matt did pay it off. Of course, Meg. And on his way home, he was murdered. I didn't do it. I don't know anything about it. Well, if these other men are willing to take all the blame, it's all right with me. No, we won't. He hired us to do it. And we haven't even got paid for the job. Yeah, that's... That's enough evidence for you, isn't it, Sheriff? It sure is. And I'm hurting these jaspers right down the lock up. Good. You go with him, Dan and Tutto. Ah. Must hang Meg and I'll ride to the double T and tell Miss Norton she's still the legal owner. Come along, Meg. Ha-ha! Landshakes alive. This is the happiest day of my life. All right. Move along there. Keep your hands up. Are you sure? What do you want, Meg? Come on there. Golly, I thought she'd forgotten about that chair. Oh, not her. That woman's got a memory like an elephant. I've just heard it is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.