 A horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty high old silver, the lone ranger. In Western United States, when government troops were sent to the frontier to put down Geronimo's rebellion, they had no experience with Indian fighting. The power of the ruthless and crafty chief might never have been broken if it had not been for the masked rider of the planes. It was only his knowledge of the country, his courage and resourcefulness which made possible the final victory and the lasting peace. Return with us now those thrilling days when the West was young. From out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver. The lone ranger rides again. The squad of soldiers were at attention. A smiling officer approached a grim-faced man who stood with his back against the wall. Pleasant day, Matthews. Quite. Pleasant day in which to die. One is much like another for that purpose. A cigarette before you leave us? No thanks. A blindfold? No thanks. You're easily satisfied. Perhaps. Any requests? Well, one if you would. Yes. If I could be carried to my bunk afterwards. To your bunk? I have friends who will call for me in an hour. Oh. I know your troop is to march. But if you could spare two men to remain with me until my friends arrive. I guess it can be managed. Tracy and Garvin. Tracy and Garvin? Well, they're the last two I'd have expected you to ask for. It's for you to say, of course. Oh, it's all right, I suppose. Anything else? Nothing. Well, goodbye. Goodbye. Ready? And? Tracy, Garvin. You'll carry Matthews to his bunk. Yes, sir. Follow me. Yes, sir. In here. That's it. On the bunk, please. Right. There. Tracy, you and Garvin will not ride with the troop. You'll stay here in barracks with Matthews. Friends will come with them. Yes, sir. Burn them out! I wish this job on us. Matthews asked for a friend. Matthews asked for us. I heard him. That's funny. Yeah. I wonder how soon then friends of his will be alone. Gentlemen, don't move. Call out and I'll let daylight through you. You're dead. Yes. Blanks will never kill anyone, Tracy. Blanks. Neat, eh? Your friend Captain Lewis will be surprised to hear of it. Just as he'd be surprised to know I can seal these guns in my bunk. Careful, don't move. Don't shoot. I thought it funny because I asked for you two to be left with me, eh? What? What are you aiming to do? Both of you gave lying testimony that sent me to the firing squad. But I... Lewis paid you to lie. No, honest. We never lied. He wanted to be court-martialed. Out of the way. And you're the skunk so helped him. Listen. You listen, gentlemen. But first, we ride. Three days later. Come on, Zoomey. Get him up, Scouts. It's out of range. Oh, oh, Scouts. Oh, oh, Zoomey. Oh, oh, oh. What matter? Listen, do you hear anything? They're shocked when someone crying out. Follow me, keep us up here. Come on. Get them up, Scouts. Thought you'd almost got loose from your ropes that time, huh? Well, try a stunt like that again, and I'll shoot to kill. You can't get away with this, Matthew. You got us loose. Shut up. You'll get caught. Oh, no. Don't shoot, David. There. Keep your mouth shut. What are you going to do with us? Do? I haven't decided yet. You ain't going to kill us, are you? Can you think of any good reason why I shouldn't? Oh, don't. Don't kill us, sir. Captain Lewis was more to blame than us. Oh, I won't overlook Captain Lewis. He'll be a tender, too. What the? A mask, man. With a red skin. Help! Get out there. Clear out. Go home. I'll take that gun. Don't release those fellas. Don't do that. You... Captain Matthews. You know me. The word went out three days ago. You were executed. I wasn't. Well, so I see. But how... There's no use making a secret of it now. The night before I was to be shot, a friend substituted blanks for bullets and the rifles of the men appointed to the firing squad. Well, that's how you escaped. Right. Those fellas' time was untying. They must be Private Tracy and Garvin. Correct. They were pointed missing. How did you know? They believed they have deserted. We never deserted. He made it go with them at the point of a gun, mister. Why? Because three men brought me to that firing squad, stranger. These two and Captain Lewis. I've heard of him. I said I'd make each one of them pay for what he did. And I will. Right now, it doesn't look as though you're in a position to carry out threats. We'll see. Well, Matthews, you can saddle up. You're going back to the fort. You'll get a reward for this, mister. Stranger, wait. Well? I suppose you're an outlaw wearing that mask. But even a crook shouldn't want to see a man shot for something he didn't do. You claim you aren't guilty? I'm not. I swear I'm not. Don't you listen to him, stranger. He'll just fill you up with a pack of lies. Quiet. I'll judge that for myself. Matthews, you were convicted of the court martial of sending the plans of Fort Davis to Geronimo. With those plans in his possession, Geronimo could easily have attacked and wiped out the garrison. But I didn't. And the patsy was shot near the fort. Those plans and notes in your handwriting were found on him. Stranger, I drew those plans. Yes, and I wrote those notes out, too. But not for the reason everybody thinks. No. Lewis tricked me into it. He got me into an argument about the campaign. And I wrote out those things just to prove my point. And then what happened to them? I left them in his quarters. I didn't give them another thought. The first I heard of them again was when it was claimed they'd been found without a patsy. How do you explain his getting possession of them? That isn't hard to figure out. Either Lewis gave those plans to him or planted them on him after he was killed. Lewis was leading the scouting party that caught him. Mister, you're just wasting time. He claimed all them things at the trial and it was proved they wasn't so. Because of the lying testimony you and Garvin gave. We only gave the truth. The truth. You told what Lewis hired you to tell. And that? That they'd seen me talking secretly without a patsy. That they'd seen me take money and hand over papers. So you claimed the charges were false and Captain Lewis was responsible. He was. But why? Because he's always hated me, that's why. Because I was a better soldier than he was. Because I got engaged to Sally Griffin. Because I was going... Sally Griffin? The daughter of Major Griffin? Yes. Tonneau. Uh-huh. Tie Matthews. Tie him up securely. Tonneau do that. Bless you. Bless you? Why can't you give me a chance? Why can't you let me stay free to prove I was framed? I'm handling this. You're showing good sense, Mister. We'll take him with a fork. We'll tell the Major you're the one that's to get the reward cash too. Not so fast. Huh? I've got an idea that you two will have plenty to explain when you return. Explain? What do you mean? They'll ask you why you let Matthews get the best of you. They'll want to know how it happened Matthew's friend was able to substitute blanks for bullets. But... But we can explain things. Maybe. But remember, right now, both of you are considered deserters. They don't know Matthews is alive. They don't know that he forced you to accompany him. Well, mister, won't they see him now, Savvy? How'd it come about? If they see him, I'm in charge here. Matthews doesn't go back to the fort unless I give the word. But what's your game, huh? What are you up to? I'm not so sure Matthews hasn't told the truth about this affair. You must be local. Wait. Hear me out. I'll go ahead. I haven't arrived at any decision one way or the other. But I'll tell you this. If Matthews is right, you'd be fools to go back. I don't get it. If Matthews told the truth, then Lewis must have paid you to give false testimony. But we... I said... Hear me out. Now then, if Lewis paid you once, he'll pay you again for silence. You can keep Matthews a prisoner here. Send word to Lewis you demand more cash. And clear out to where you can enjoy it. Yeah, we could do that. Only it ain't so. What are you trying to make us say anyhow, mister? That we lied at the court-martial? You know more about that than I do. Well, we never. You lied your heads off, both of you. Well, think over what I said. If Matthews is lying, take him in. But if he isn't, you've got everything to gain by following my suggestions. The Lone Ranger and Tonto walked away from Tracy and Garvin as they consulted together. But not a move, nor an expression of the two soldiers escaped the masked man. Although it looks as though Matthews was telling the truth. I wanted to see how Tracy and Garvin would react to what I suggested. They'd simply insisted upon turning Matthews in. It would have appeared as though he'd been lying. That's right. Those fellows wouldn't have any reason for talking it over between themselves unless they felt they might gain by my suggestion. They couldn't gain by it unless Captain Lewis had hired them. They accept. They decide to get in touch with Lewis and demand more cash. We'll know they're guilty, but that won't be enough. What do? They'll have to trap them in such a way that their conviction won't rest on our words alone. You've got plans. I think so. By the time being, we'll let them think where the outlaws they seem to believe us. And say nothing to Matthews either. It won't hurt to have them think we're against him. Tonto and I'll talk. Wait. I think they've finished. We'll see what they decided. Hey, stranger! Yes? We, uh... We was thinking... Go ahead and talk. Matthews can't hear us. I'm looking, mister. You and the engine are outlaws all right, ain't you? I'm masked. Yeah, sure. But how do we know we can trust you? That's up to you. I'm not asking you to. No need to get offended. But stranger, where do you figure in on this? Mind you, we ain't saying nothing. We ain't admitting nothing. But supposing we did have something on Captain Lewis. Yes, where do you figure to profit? You'd have to get in touch with him. Sure. Which would be dangerous for either one of you. However, you could use us for that. We'll contact Lewis and you collect. With each of us getting a fair split, huh? We can talk about that later. Well, then what do you think? Ain't a bad idea. Game for it? Sure. All right, then, stranger, it's a bargain. We happen to know that Captain Lewis has got plenty of cash and between the four of us, we'll make him pay over just about every last cent of it. 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. How to continue our story. At Fort Davis, the officers lived in a row of cottages built just outside the stockade. On the evening of the following day, Captain Lewis was talking with Sally Griffin on the porch of her father's home and... Sally. Yes? Look, Sally, do you think I wanted to find out about Matthews? You act as though I should have overlooked my duty when I found those plans, as though I shouldn't have said anything. No, I... Well, then... I'm a soldier's daughter, Captain Lewis. I've asked you to call me Bob. I'd rather not. I can wait. I said I'm a soldier's daughter. I know what a soldier's duty is, what it means to him. But when you found those plans... Yes? I... I felt as though you were glad you'd found them. I can't help it. Maybe I'm silly, maybe I'm not fair to you. But that's just the way it seemed to me. You are unfair. If I am, I'm sorry. I'll tell you something I haven't told anyone. Yes? Perhaps I would have been doing wrong. But if there hadn't been others along, I would have said nothing to anyone about those plans. No. You believe that, don't you? I... I don't know what to think. Well, at least try to believe. I wouldn't have had this thing happen of my own choice. I think you'd better go now. Tired? A little. I'd like to go inside. Will I see you tomorrow? Please, Captain Lewis, give me more time. I... I seem to be... We all mixed up about things. Of course, Sally. Good night. Good night. Young Lewis? Yes, father? Hmm... You haven't been acting very friendly toward him from what I've noticed. I guess not. Any particular reason, honey? I don't know why, father, but I just can't like him. He seems sneaky somehow. Oh, come now, Sally. Well, he does. Listen to me, honey. Yes? I know you thought a lot of young Matthew. No, father. No, don't try to change the subject. I know it's hard for you to speak of it, but it'd better be said and done with. Now then, you've got to face the fact that you're a young woman. And before you're many years older, you will have your share of young men hanging about. What I mean is this. What's past is past. There's no use dwelling on it. Do you understand me? Yes, father. Good. Has... has there been anything learned? Uh-huh. Learned? About those two soldiers. What were their names? Tracy and Garvin. Oh, them. Know nothing so far. But they'll be found. They can't travel far without being noticed. Don't you think it's odd that they deserted? Odd? Why? They testified against Ray. Hmm, yes. But I scarcely think there's any connection between that and their disappearance. But there could be. Perhaps. It's not probable, though. Well, good night, father. To bed already? Yes. What? A crook. A crook. You... you're a man! See that? A bullet. What? Silver. A silver bullet. Does it mean anything to you? Silver. Then you... you're... Yes? You're the long ranger. Meanwhile, Captain Lewis had walked slowly toward his own cottage. He mounted the steps, crossed the porch, and inserted his key in the lot. Only to find the door already unlocked. Unlocked? By heavens, I'm sure I locked it before I went out. Where's that lamp? If anything's been stolen, I might as well... Do not steal. A red skin. Do not make noise. What in the devil are you doing here? We bring message. Clear out. Better you hear what Tondra says. Clear out, I tell you. Clear out before I call the guard. You know color name Tracy? No. What was that? No other color name Garvin. What do you know about them? Them send message. You've seen them? Yeah. You know where they are? Yeah. What message would they have for me? Them want cash. Want plenty cash. Huh? Them say you send cash, you get heap trouble. They said that? Yeah. What else did they say? Them $1,000. That all them say. Why the blasted? Look here, that skin. Did they tell you why they wanted that cash? What made them think they could get it? Them not tell that. Where are they? Them not tell. You said you knew. Them not tell. They told you not to, eh? Them not right. So they're asking for $1,000. I suppose they want it as soon as possible. Of course, I haven't that much on hand, but I could give them what I have and the rest later. All right. Just a second until I see how much I have in the desk here. All right. Raise your hands. Fast. What matter? Try to blackmail me, will they? I'll show them the dirty skunks. What you do? Red skin. You're taking me to where they've hidden out. No, Tonto not do that. No? Look at this gun. You'll follow orders or get grilled. Not you. I could shoot you, Red Skin. Shoot you until the guard I found you in here thieving. They'd ask no questions. And that would be the finish of you. You will not shoot. If you obey orders, no. But if you don't, it will be a pleasure. Less than an hour later, the lone ranger drew in his great horse at the small, well-hidden camp he had chosen for a hideout. Tracey and Garvin, with Matthew securely bound, have been waiting for him. And who's over who? Who, fella? Who? Hey, what luck you have. Hey, Jim. Good enough. Can we talk to Lewis? Tonto did. Mr. I got a hand at the end. I'm glad we made it. Yes, and so am I. Well, I'll bet you are. With all the cash we can make working together. Well, Matthews. You rotten outlaw. Comfortable? How could I be comfortable with enough ropes around me to hog-tie a steer? Give me a word. You won't try to get away, and I'll loosen them for you. I'll get away the first chance I can. Well, then, stay the way you are. Hey, stranger. What do we have to hang on to him for anyhow? He's too doggone much trouble. And I'll just finish him off and get rid of him. Yeah, that's just what I was thinking. Do that, and you lose half your hold on Captain Lewis. I don't see why. Now, you can threaten him with exposure. You can let the authorities know that your testimony at the court-martial was false. That's enough to scare him with, ain't it? Perhaps. But if Lewis tried to fight you, then you could let him know Matthews is still alive, and Lewis would fear Matthews revenge more than anything else. Yeah. Yeah, that's so. Matthews has already been condemned to death. Lewis knows Matthews would have nothing more to lose by killing him. You're right, again, stranger. You'll hang on to this fellow for a spell yet, and we see whether Lewis is going to come across willin' or not. That's best. How soon you figure Tano will be gettin' back? Well, I look for him any moment now. Stay here. I'm going down the trail of ways to meet him. In the shadows, not far from the camp, two horsemen pull their mounts to a stop there. I'm out of that saddle. Yeah, you got it. You're walking ahead of me. You're taking me directly to their camp. And if you give one word of warning, the first shot is for you. Get that? Yes, sir, sir. And start moving. Up in these woods? Not right. How far? Not far. Let me show you. No tricks now, although it'll be the last you ever try. There. There, camp. Tracy and Garvin. Who's that third fellow? One that got tied up. You'll find out. You'll bet I will. Now, keep on going. Rage! What? Lewis! It's Captain Lewis. Blast you, Redskins. Let him make Tonto bring him. If the Redskins hadn't, he'd have got a bullet where it would have done him the most good. You dirty blackmailers, I get... Matthews. Surprised to see me? You were shot. You mean I would have been if you'd had your way. He tricked the captain. Stand back. Don't try anything. Tricked me, eh? Well, Matthews, you won a second time. No. I'm shutting your mouth right now. Your mistake, Lewis. Drop that gun. Drop it. There. I knew you'd get him, mister. I knew you was on hand somewhere. Now, Captain, maybe you don't feel so smart about finding where we was hid. But I... Shut up! Maybe you're a captain all right, but we ain't in the army no more. But we're the ones that are given the orders. The Redskins can tell you what we was asking for. I won't pay. No, you won't, eh? Reckon you like to have us cross the border where we couldn't be brought back and then send words to the major how you paid us to lie about seeing Matthews here do business with that their patchy. You wouldn't be believed. It's the truth. Just as it's true that you yourself gave those plans to Geronimo Spice. Try and prove it. Who'll take the word of an outlaw and a Redskins? And who'll believe anything two deserters say? You may be surprised. I've paid every penny I'm going to pay. You gave me and Garvin here just a hundred dollars a piece to do your lion for you. That's all it was worth. That's your notion. But we got a different one. You're bluffing, Captain. But you know we ain't. You pay up or we'll go ahead and do just as we said we would. Hey, look out, he's got an extra gun. Yo, take it! Oh! That'll hold him. And this'll hold all of you. Up with your hands. Look, hey, watch it. Quickly! Up with them, Tracy. That means you two, Garvin. But what in blazes? They ain't you a pod? Did I say I was? All right, major, take over. Right. Sergeant, put these men under arrest. They must have heard everything we said. We did. Thanks to the mask man, you, Lewis, you'll get exactly what you'd planned for Matthews, a court martial. No, listen. Silence. Sergeant, untie Matthews. Todd was getting him. Him free. But I don't understand. The mask man, the Indian. I thought they were outlaws. You did? They were scheming with Tracy and Garvin. Only to expose them and Lewis, Matthews. But why didn't you tell me what you were planning? Your help wasn't needed. And if you had known, you might have given us away. Then the Redskins wanted me to come here? Of course, Lewis. And the easiest way to bring you here, without arousing your suspicions, was to make you believe Todd O was trying to keep this hideout a secret. The mask man explained the whole plan to me. Major Griffin. Yes, Matthews? This means you know the truth. I'll be cleared. I'll get back my rank. You will, Captain. And another thing. Yes? I think you'll find Sally waiting for you. The mask man. He's leaving. I wanted to thank him. He doesn't ask thanks, Captain. But I... The Lone Ranger never does. The Lone Ranger? There's an adventure on the trail ahead. It's a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.