 A fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a haughty high old silver, the lowl ranger. With his faithful Indian companion, Tato, the daring and resourceful masked 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 of the thundering hoof feet of the great horse Silver, the lone ranger rides again. The westbound stage rattled and swayed crazily along the trail toward the town of Copper Butte. The wounded driver found it almost impossible to stay on the swaying seat. He gripped the seat desperately. He'd lost the reins and the horses running wild were wild-eyed and panic-stricken. They could do nothing to stop the runaway, nothing but shout. People in town saw the stage approaching. They knew that something had gone wrong. They watched the oncoming stage and cried out as they watched. That stage was running wild. Hey, look, life's been wounded. Get clear. Get out of the way. Stay inside or you'll get trampled. Someone's got to stop those horses. Everyone cried out as the stage grew near, but there was just one individual who took action. It was an Indian who raced toward the side of a building and followed to the back of a paint horse that stood waiting. It was Tato, the Indian companion of the lone ranger. He dashed in from aside, then swung parallel to the runaway team. Without regard for his own safety, Tato leaned far out to the side and flushed the bridle of a lead horse. Hold there! Hold! Hold! That's the engine! Pull it down! Hold! Hold! Hold! They're stopping. Keep at it, engine! They're stopping. You've done it. I expected the stage to spill over almost any minute. Hey, what happened? They're wounded, they. Tell us about it. Hey, what's it all about? What made the horses run wild like that, Dave? What happened to you? As the townspeople crowded around the stage, they're interested in the driver and the wound in his shoulder overshadowed the interest in Tato, who welcomed the chance to draw back and mingle with the crowd. What happened to you? Now, hold on, folks. You saved your questions for a time. I got nothing to say until I've talked to the sheriff. Where's the sheriff? Hey, Sheriff, Leap wants it. Yes, sir. Come here. Let me through there. All right, sir. Good heaven, Leap. How'd you get shot? Who did it? Sheriff, that's something I want to know. The critter wore a hood over his face. A hood? He had the drop on me. I went for my gun and he fired. Robbed the stage? No. Well, if this hood of critter didn't want to rob the stage, why'd he step here? If these people back in, I'll show you. You heard him go on, move back. Keep his room. All right, boys, come on. Help me down from here. This room's downright inconvenient. Yes, give me your hand, Leap. Rest until we get back. Back some more. Yeah, come to the door. Open her up and you'll see why the stage was stopped. Thank her. Yep. Yes, indeed. I reckon so. That's why the hood of critter stopped us. I'll tell you just what happens, Sheriff, and you can figure it out for yourself. He's giving you two fags. Well, you see, I was just on the other side of the flats when this horseman rode out from behind cover and made me pull up. Waiting for you, eh? Must have been. I rained up thinking it was a hole up there. Yeah. But it wasn't. The hood and man didn't even try to find out what was on the stage. They just rode up to the door beside the banker and shot point blank. I reached for my gun. He snapped a shot my way and emptied the rest of his bullets in the banker whipple. Just gun him for whippin'. Right. Hey, uh, is Lemmeck with us around? Right here, Sheriff. Where's Mike Samuels? I'm here. You want to see me? Yeah, both of you go to my office right away. I'll meet you there. I want you too, Bart. Me, Sheriff? Yes, you. I aimed a question all three of you. Total watched as the Sheriff took the three men into his office. Then the Indian moved to a side window where he could see and hear what went on. Now, boys, I don't intend to waste no time. Bank of Whipple's been shot dead by a hooded man. Well, if you think that I did it, why... You might have been sheriff instead of me if Bank of Whipple hadn't pulled against you in the last election. Isn't that so? Yes. You vowed you'd make him sorry for beating you. I vowed that, but I didn't mean I'd kill him. That is for you, boy. You can't accuse me of murder. You've had a grudge against the banker because he wouldn't let you and his daughter get married. But that's no cause for me to kill him. I didn't... Let's take Mike there. If you think I killed him just because he foreclosed the mortgage on me, you better think again. Hence, all I know is that the banker is dead. You three are the only ones I know that had any grudge against him. Now, how do you stand for alibis? You first, Lim. Where were you during the past hour? Well, I... Let me see. I guess I must have been near my south line. I went there to check up the line fence. Then you proved that? I was riding alone. How about you, Mike? You got an alibi? I was in the cafe most all morning, Sheriff. I left about an hour ago to visit Wolf Larson, but he wasn't home. So I came back to town just as a stage commander. Can you prove where you were during the past hour? No, but that... Your turn, but... Where were you? I've been home, and I've been alone. I can't prove I was there, but by thunder I was. Then not one of you got an alibi. Any one of you might have killed the banker. Well, I didn't. No, I... Don't look at me. I didn't do it. You all had a grudge. That's a motive. Hey, Thunder, I think Whipple's killer is right here in this room. Today I'm going to find a way to pick him out. The Sheriff spent the rest of the day visiting the scene of the murder and studying what meager clues there were, but he found nothing of importance. He went to his office early the next morning. As he was about to unlock the door, he heard his name. Sheriff Conroy. Hey, what? Mashed. Open your door and go right in. There's he here, Mr. We'll talk inside. Sheriff, I came here to talk about yesterday's murder. You, uh, knew something about it? We found the place where the murder was committed. What about it? You saw that, didn't you? Yes. And there were a few tracks of a horse, but they were soon lost on the lava bed. Tonto and I found some other tracks. Tonto. That's the name of the Indian who stopped the runaway stage team. You, uh, knew Tonto? Yes. He's my friend. Yeah. Oh, mister, tell me some more, um, what other tracks did you find? They were the tracks of a horse and some small animals. They showed that the horsemen stopped for some time a short distance from the scene of the shooting. Sheriff, I think that man saw the murder. Yeah. Furthermore, I think he followed the murderer and found out who he was. How could he follow the killer's tracks if I couldn't do it? Because, uh, he had dogs. Dogs? My gully. Dogs, you see? We saw where he and the dogs moved up to the scene of the murder, then followed the murderer's trail. To the lava bed? Yes. We couldn't follow tracks on the lava because it was too hard to show any trail. But dogs could follow the scent. What you've told me is important. But I'm right importantly. I thought it might be. Um, there's, uh, just one man who has a dog, Peg. Yes? That's Wolf Larsen. He's got six dogs that are trained to hunt wolves. Larsen lives on bounty. He might be able to name the murderer. Wait, let me think this out. I was wondering about Larsen. He never had any cash to spend on drinks for his friends, but last night in the cafe, he was spending money like it was water. He was? I wondered where he got that cash. I better know what you've told me if it's right in. Good. Yes, siri. Wolf saw the murder. Then he used the dogs to track down the killer. He got paid to keep his mouth shut. That's just about the size of it. Where does Wolf Larsen live? Well, he's got a shack in the woods about a mile north of town. When are you going to call him? Right now. And I'll go with you. Yeah. But, uh, look here, you haven't told me who you are. Oh, that's unimportant. Why, you must. Because I don't care to show my face. Don't you think it would be wise if we called on Wolf as soon as possible? Well, yes, I guess you may as well come on. When the sheriff and the Lone Ranger entered the woods, they had to slow their horses to a walk. This made it possible to carry on a conversation. And Sheriff Conroy looked as though he wanted to ask questions, but for some time he kept quiet. For several minutes, the only sounds came from the horses hoops and the dogs at Larsen's cabin. Finally, the lawman turned toward the masked man. Hey, look here, Miss. Yes. I've been doing some thinking during this ride. Have you? I've heard about an Indian named Tando and a horse called Sylvie. The man that rides that horse. Hey, tell me one more thing. Are those bullets in your belt made out of Sylvie? Yes, they are. I see. Now I understand things a little better. I couldn't figure out why a masked man would help me solve a murder. But now... Those dogs always make that much noise. Yeah. Wolf figures they work better if they're a little hungry. So we don't feed them much. Oh. There's a shack where they'll be on. Well, if you can persuade him to talk, he may solve yesterday's murder. He'll talk all right. I'll see to that. If Larsen knows anything, I'll get it out of him. Dogs are quieting down some. Yes, they're watching this damn right curious rain up here. Right. Oh, Silver, oh boy. Don't worry about those dogs, they're pinned up tight. Anything caught up? Oh, I wasn't worried about them. I'm surprised that Wolf hasn't come out to see rooms here. Maybe he's still sleeping. Hey, Larsen, open the door. Maybe he's not home. Open that, Wolf. It's me, Conroy. It's not. Come on in. Right. Yes, he has old blankets over the window. These bunks open this corner. I can see better if we un-come with one of the windows. Yeah. Pull down the coming on that one. Let's move like it. Hey, look, the bunks empty. Maybe Larsen got up and left the house earlier than you thought. I don't know what I've seen. The bed's not warm. He hasn't been in it recently. He might have stayed in the cafe all night. Maybe he slept there, but he's been mighty unusual. What's that dog? He goes to a sort of lean-to that Wolf uses for a kitchen. Whatever, look in there. See if he's built up a fire this one. A bit of old things. Look at him sleeping on the floor. He sure did have a time, Larsen. Come on, Larsen. Larsen, shine. New day's coming. It's near half. Go on. Wake up, Larsen. Just a minute, Sheriff. Go on. Wait. Look at him. He looks like he's sleeping. He's not. He'll be. That Wolf Larsen is dead. And it looks like the second murder. 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. After finding Wolf Larsen murdered, the Lone Ranger left Sheriff Conroy and hurried to a small camp where Tato had been waiting. They took the masked man but a few minutes to tell his Indian friend about the latest development. Then after the Sheriff and I compared notes, we came to the conclusion that Wolf Larsen knew the murderer and demanded money for silence. The killer gave him some money, which he spent last night in the cafe. That's right. And the killer realized that he'd probably have to go on paying Wolf Larsen. So him kill Wolf? That's probably it. Seems like a good explanation. That's right. You find any clue to a fellow who killed Larsen? No, Tato. He was careful to hide his tracks. And he's smart. The Sheriff told me about three men. Oh, we tell you about three fellow, too. Yes, Tato. The Sheriff named the same men that you did. Len Winter, Bart Baker, and Mike Samuels. He gave me a few facts about each one. Len's a small rancher. Bart's a cowhound and Mike lives in town. He had a ranch but lost it to the bank. All three had grunge against Whipple. As far as the Sheriff knows, they're the only ones with a motive for murder. Can you hear it? A wolf. Ah, plenty wolf around here. Yes. That's why Larsen was able to make a living. The cattleman lose a lot of stock to wolves. They're glad to pay a bounty. Tato, I have an idea. If one of the three suspects is a murderer, we might be able to trap him. Ah, trap him like wolf, huh? Yes, Tato, just like a wolf. I wonder if it could be done. While the Lone Ranger and Tato proceeded with their plans, Sheriff Conroy carried on his investigation of a second murder. As in the case of the first, his suspects were restricted to just three men, Mike, Lem, and Bart. That predator, one of you three, is lying. We're going to stay right here in my office till I find out which one it is. Sheriff, you've got nothing on any one of us, and you know it. Lem, listen to me a minute. One of you three is guilty. That's a dead sure thing. One of you is guilty. That means that the other two are innocent. Now, I don't want to make a lot of trouble for a couple of innocent men. Why don't the two of you that are innocent try to help me instead of holding back and being antagonistic? Hey, what the? An arrow. It comes through that window. Just missed me. I felt the wind of her. Can't do that and get away with it. Wait, hold on. There he is. That Redskin all the way on. You're getting his horse. Now, so am I. Mike, hold your fire. Like fun, I will. Fire again, Mike. No, no. Fire at me. You missed him. Hold it, Mike. Stop it. Ah, gone at the murder, and Redskin got away. Put that gun down, you crazy fool. That idiot's name is Tondo. I don't care what his name is. That arrow just missed me. He wasn't fired at you, Mike. Well, he's... That's the Indian that stopped the runaway team yesterday. What? He fired that antler and threw the window to send me a message. I'm going back inside. See the message, fasten the arrow. I'm gonna see what it says. I thought the arrow was fired at me. What is the message, Sheriff? What's it saying? Is anything important? Maybe it is important. Maybe it's mighty important. You three stay here in my office for a minute. Where are you going? I've got to go to the back room. I want to see about something back there. I don't know. You go away. How long have you been here, mister? Just a few minutes, Sheriff. Sorry that Tonto's arrow made such a disturbance, but I had to get word to you to come to this room. Yes, you were right. I didn't want those three men to know that I was here. Sheriff, are you still convinced that one of them is a killer? Yes, you, um, put him hanged if I can tell which one it is. All three of them have to get a dick like they thought it was a local. Sheriff, do you remember Larson's kitchen? What about it? The door was standing open. Yeah. There were six eyewitnesses to his death. Six. They don't serve you? The dogs. Larson's dogs? I'm sure they must have seen the murderer, but it really doesn't matter whether they did or not. They'll find the killer for you. Oh, now, wait a minute. They was bloodhounds or something like that. There might be a chance, but there was an honor in no account that critters can't do nothing but trail wolves. They don't know nothing else. They might start on the trail of a killer, but they'll leave it as soon as the wolf trail crosses it. I think you're wrong. Well, I'm sure willing to be shown I'm wrong. I'd like to clean up those two murders. Will you do what I say? I'm ready to try anything. Where are the dogs now? My deputy's taking Cabin. Then tell them I can get them from your deputy? Yeah. Halfway between here and Larson's shake. All right. Well, you take those three suspects to Larson's cabin, leave their horses there, and go by foot to the top of the ridge. Is that clear? I can do that all right. Don't let them know why you're doing it until you reach the ridge. Well, you know, at least we'll flush this place. We're going to leave our horses here and take a walk to the top of the ridge. And me with my bum feet. At the deputy's house, Tonto and the Lone Ranger stood inside a small enclosure with the six lean dogs milling restlessly about them. Just beyond the pen, the masked man's horse stood ready and waiting for a fast trip to the top of the ridge. It'll be funny whenever we are, Tonto. Uh, it looked like dogs can be ready to go. Yes, they look pretty fierce. I think they'll do all that's necessary. Well, that's about time we get started. The sheriff and his three suspects should have reached the ridge by now. Ah, you sure to keep ahead of dogs? That's up to Silver. Give me about a 200 yard start, then you can release them. And Tonto, do it. You can follow the dogs. He said it. Don't step over the fence and get going. Dogs don't like to see you leave. Do it again. Take it easy, boys. Maybe you'll get fed pretty soon. I don't forget your part, Tonto. Huh? You know? Steady there, Silver. We're traveling now, old fella. What's the matter? You angry because I spent some time with those dogs? It's all right, fella. Don't worry about it. Easy now. Come on, Silver. As the masked man raced away, the six big dogs barked and leaned at the gate as if desperate to take up the pursuit. Tonto waited, watching until the Lone Ranger traveled about 200 yards. Then he threw the gate wide open. Now, you fellas, go! And now, Tonto, go! Get him up, scoundrel! Despite the complaints of his three companions, Sheriff Conroy didn't pause on the uphill walk until he reached the ridge designated by the Lone Ranger. There he called a welcome halt. There you boys can rest. It sure was a walk from a man that ain't used to using his legs. Oh, my feet are killing me. Sheriff, you'd better have a mighty good reason for all this. I'm surprised that you can't guess a reason. I'm out to find the one who killed Whipple and Larson. You aimin' to walk our legs off till one of us confesses? I gotta hide since the truth had come out before long. You see, I'm pretty sure the same hombre killed both men. He might have been safe if he'd quit after the Whipple job, but he had witnesses when he dealt with Larson. Witnesses? That's right, Mac. Larson's dogs. All six of them. Dogs? That's... Ah! Dogs. You can scoff about the dogs. If they can do things the best man in the world can't do, they can follow a trail a human can't see. If you're countin' on those good-for-nothing muts that Wolf Larson kept to help you out... I admit they wouldn't take no prizes for good looks, bud. I hear hoofs. Someone comin' this way fast. Just beyond the ridge. Let me see. Yeah, there he is. Ridin' over the same trail we used. Hey, speak to him. Hey, he's masked. Yep. Look at him travelin'. Look at that cloud of dust he's kickin' up. Great. Day with a horse. A pheal, too. Who is he? Why's he comin' here? He's standin' with you, I had chance. He'll save you the whole thing in a couple of minutes. Who's there with all our pearls? Hey, everybody! Hey, who are you? What's that mask mean? It's a big fella. They're coming this way, Sheriff. What's he mean? You sure? They picked up the trail right away. I saw them start off. Yeah, I can hear them. The dogs? Sounds like they're chasing a wolf. I've heard them do that before. This time you're on a different kind of a trail. You bet they are. They're on the trail of the man who killed their mass here. No, listen, this ain't legal. You can't stick dogs on all three of us. The dogs won't go after all three of you. Conroy, who is this stranger? What business is it his? Take it easy, boys. The only man who's got cause to worry is Wolf Larson's murder. The rest of us don't have to be afraid. Those dogs won't make a mistake. Wolf Larson may not have amounted to much, but he meant everything to his dogs. They'll deal with this killer just as they've been trained to deal with wolves killing sheep. They know only one rule. They have only one punishment. That punishment is death. They might get the wrong man. They might go for all of us. This ain't justice. The dogs won't make a mistake. Here they won't let the murderer spend his life in jail or get free on some legal angle the way a court of law is like me to do. Sheriff, you lose your job for this. I won't stand for it. When I get back to town and tell about this. Save your breath. The dogs are coming fast. They're mighty hungry. Get me out of here. Now, fix those doors. Get your guns, boys. Oh, not that. Same goes for anyone else who tried to shoot those dogs. They won't attack anyone but the killer. Oh, they'll tear him apart. The killer can have a jury trial if you confess. I'll get him away from here on my horse. He's got a screen by the creek. I hope he don't squeal. I'd like to see the dogs go to work on the pole can. Not much time left. No. No, save me. I confess. Take me away from here. Where the fuck? You dirty murderer. I gotta write you a jury trial. Get me away. Save me. Don't let those dogs get me. You kill Wolf Larson? Yes. Yes, I admitted he tried to blackmail me. You kill the banker? Yes. Take me away from here in the name of mercy. Save me from those dogs. Is that what you want? Shut up. It sure is. Why aren't you under arrest for murder? Madman Michael witnesses it. Yes, yes, but save me, but haven't saved you. The dogs won't come any nearer. You needn't be afraid. What? Hey, look. They stopped down yonder. Pawn over something on the ground. It's the pell of a wolf that I dragged there behind my saddle. That's what the dogs followed. That's all those dogs know. You tricked me. You sure put yourself right in the class with a murder wolf when you figured Larson's dogs was coming after you? But you warn me, skunk. You figured to get rid of Whipple and make another try to marry his daughter and her money. Why in tarnation didn't you squeal down in town and save me this walk with my feet at killing me? Silly big fella. I'll send your deputy up here for the dogs, Sheriff. I ought to put deputy badges on them dogs. Very friendly, mister. I ought to put a gold deputy badge on you. Hold still there. Sheriff, if that mask man worked out this trick, you sure ought to sign him up as a lawman. Mike, ain't no one concerned of the Lone Ranger. The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.