 A horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a honey-hio silver, a lone ranger. A faithful Indian companion-tuttle, a daring resourceful mastrider of the Plains, let the people 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 loop beats of the Great War Silver. The lone ranger rides again once more. Let's go! Let's go! As Silas Kilby rode along the main street of Redhill, heading for his wrench a few miles to the south, he heard someone calling his name as he passed the speech to him. Silas! Silas Kilby! Oh, hey, I hope! I knew you was uptown, Silas. I'm gonna watch it for you the first time. Got a letter for you. Come on this day from St. Louis a while ago. A letter from St. Louis for me? Yep. Thanks. I can't think of anyone who'd be racking me from St. Louis since my daughter Sally came back from school. Well, uh, is she gonna open it? Time enough to open it when I get home. Come on! Get up there! Come on! Get up! Hey, Kilby looked up from her kitchen drawers and the back door opened and her husband Silas came in. Heavens to bet this Silas shit started me almost out of my wits. I didn't even hear you riding into the rain charge. Sorta snuck up on me, is that it, Kate? There isn't much you miss around here. Good to know I can get away with something once in a while. Silas! I snuck back a letter from Tonky. A letter? Yeah, came in on the stage from St. Louis today. I read it on the way out. Here it is. Let me see it. It says from your old friend Dick Barton. Who's Dick Barton? I've never heard of him. Just go ahead and read the letter, then you'll know. Just like a woman who reads the tale and first. Let's see. Dear Sy, it's been 25 years since I made my strike and came back east. I married a wealthy guy. And we have a son, Bill. When his grandmother died, she left the boy a sum of money in his own name. Bill's 20 now, and he thinks money will get him anything. Hmm. I lay out a talk to Bill and persuaded him to try ranching for a year. I told him if he hopes to inherit my fortune, he'll have to work and make a man of himself. Well, Bill, you know what? I don't know. Unfortunately, he'll have to work and make a man of himself. Dick Barton worked hard to get what he has. Stop interrupting, Sylas. Sy, I'm sending Bill out to you to work on your ranch. I'm hoping it'll make him see things in a different light. He'll arrive soon after this letter. Regards from your old friend Dick Barton. Yeah, Dick and I were close friends when we pioneered out this way. I took the ranch and he went prospecting. Found a gold mine that gave him a fortune. Guess if the boy's on his way, there's nothing to do but give him a job here. Of course we'll put him to work like Dick wants me to. If that don't make him come to his senses, they're nothing real. Maybe so, Sylas, but it's going to be mighty hard to my way of thinking. If he's used to having plenty of money whenever he wanted it. We'll do what we can with Dick's son and just hope for the best. Several days later, Sylas and his 18-year-old daughter, Sally, work it up the stage, people, for the arrival of the stagecoach from the east. The stage ought to be coming along any minute now. I wonder if Bill Barton will stay with us very long, Dan. Don't know about that. While he is at the ranch, he's going to work as hard as anyone else. I'll see to that. Here comes the stage now. I'm anxious to see what he looks like. Somebody's getting out now, Ben. Sure is a handsome young fella getting out. Do you think that could be Bill? I'll be for Mr. Kilby. Can you tell me where I'm? I'm Sylas Kilby. You must be Bill Barton. That's right. Glad to meet you, Mr. Kilby. Oh, who's the beautiful girl? Oh, this is my daughter, Sally. How do you do, Bill? My dad didn't tell me about this pleasant surprise. I thought Western girls were... Wow. Rough, tough and homely perhaps? Well, something like that. You know, pioneer stuff and all that sort of thing. You'll find real down-to-earth women out here, young fella. Not the namby panty-cide with paint all over the faces. Well, Sally doesn't need anything like that. In fact, I think I'm going to like it here. Well, we'll get your luggage to the buckboard and start for the ranch. Come on, dad. On the way back to the ranch, both Sally and her father soon realized that Bill Barton was going to be a difficult problem. Now, Bill, according to your father's wishes, I'm going to put you to work on my ranch. Working with the cowhands and learning all there is to know about ranching will do you good. Is that the kind of work I'm going to do, Mr. Kilby? Be just one of the ranch hands? Of course. What else do you expect? You didn't think I'd make you a foreman or something right off, did you? No, but I don't think I'm going to like working with cattle. Well, what's wrong with it? As dad said, it'll do you good. And in my mind, there's no better way for a real man to make a living than to be a rancher. Well, maybe if you spent several years in the East, you'd change your mind, son. For your information, I did spend several years in the East. In St. Louis, where I was educated. Frankly, I was very happy to get back home to the West. What chance does a man have to make a name for himself? You know, to give his name before the public out here in this wild place. Son, let me tell you something. History will be full of the names of real men who've done their part helping the West grow. Men like Kit Carson, General Huston, Ben Austin, and Fremont. Son, I'll keep my promise to your dad. But I warn you, I expect you to do your part and work as hard as the others. Or I'll have to let you go back. And then I'll have to write to your father that it was all a big mistake having you here. Get out there! Come on, get out! The re-roading silence, though, bill didn't seem concerned what had been said. Just before reaching the ranch, I saw an Indian running trail. It was Tuttle, companion of the Long Range here. Hey, look, coming down a trail, an Indian. Yeah, if you see plenty of them around here. Oh, I know that. Look at that horse he's riding now. That's a beauty. Stop the buck for a minute, will you? Before. I want to talk to that Indian. Well, all right. Oh, there. Oh, there. Why do you want to speak to that Indian? I thought you guessed. I want that paint horse. Don't be foolish. Well, I'll be done. Hey, hey there, Indian. Oh, what do you want? How much do you want for that horse of yours? Me not sell horse. I like that horse and I want to own him. I'll give you $500 for him right now. Oh, you're not for sale. He doesn't want to sell his horse. Let's drive on, Dave. Now, wait a minute. Look at him. I'll double the offer. Well, hold on, young fella. That's a lot of money. Well, Indian, what do you say? You keep money and me keep horse. Hang on. Hold on. Wait a minute. Hang on. He doesn't want your money? That's stupid. Ritzkin doesn't realize the value of money. I suppose it doesn't occur to you that perhaps the Indian thinks more of his horse than he does of all the money you could offer him. Tommy Rott. He's just an ignorant retrospect. That's why you're wrong, Bill. I happen to know that's one of the smartest Indians around here. Like Sally says, he'd rather have his horse than all your money. Of course, you wouldn't understand a man feeling like that. Get up there. Come on, get up. In the week war on, Sally's opinion of Bill dropped lower. One morning, she listened to her father discussing him with her mother. Kate, did Bill leave with the ranch hands this morning to help with the roundup? Not that I know of, Silas. I think he's still sleeping. Oh, Sonic, that boy's about the laziest critter in the territory. Yesterday, I told him to take three of the horses to the blacksmith. Didn't he do it, Dad? The horses got new shoes all right, but instead of taking them to town himself, he gave one of the hands $10 to take them in. Is it good for the rest of the hands to have Bill doing things like that? I know it. If he keeps giving out money, the hands will be dissatisfied with what I'm paying him. I hate to disappoint my old friend Dick, but I have a mind to send Bill back east and call it quits. Wait a while. Give him a chance. Chance? He had his chance, and he's proved already he isn't worth the salt. Well, give him another week. That's all. Gotta get out of the range. When that good-for-nothing Bill gets up, tell him to come out there. I'll kill him, sir. See you later. Late evening, Tuttle returned from town and stopped at the camp where the lone ranger was waiting. Horse-gun opener? Easy-scun. Easy-cunner. What's the news from town, Tuttle? Well, farmers from South have meet in a bank. They've had to get money to finish building dams. Banks say no. Those poor farmers are in trouble, Tuttle. The land is not producing for one of the irrigation. Have you dulled their cash to talk to a big damman? Not right. If the dam is completed, it will be the answer to their problem. But it will cost more than I thought. And he must hubby. Me see a fellow who tried by a spout the other day. Him talking to a girl outside bank. And what you've already told me, there's been a great deal of talk about Bill Barton. Isn't he staying at the killby ranch? Ah. And him talking to kill the girl. Me hear him. Them talking about farmers. And her kept plenty mad at young fellow. Oh, why? Well, them come out a bank. Damn near Hitchirac. And me put in supplies and settled banks. Me hear and talk. I feel terribly sorry for those farmers. They've mortgaged the land to pay for building a dam, but it isn't completed and their money's run out. The bank refuses to help. How much would it take, Sally? Oh, about $30,000, they say. Such a lot of money. You know what? It might be worth that much to me to make my name known throughout the territory. I'll give them money if they'll call it the Bill Barton dam. They look at me as sort of a hero. Bill Barton. I'll try to overlook the way you've acted, but what you've just said lowers my opinion if you were all the wiggins about them. Why? Well, you're not thinking of helping those farmers. You're helping only the publicity you'll get out of it. What's the difference? They'll get the dam, won't they? Yes. Yes, that's true. Oh, what a use of trying to talk to you. I've been hoping you'd get to like me. You see, I... It's no use, Bill. Go in there and act a good Samaritan. Pat yourself on the back and take the blow away, but I want no part of it. I'm going on home. There are some things your money can't buy. You'll find that out someday. Oh, girl, row down the town. Young Palatola. I see the girl's viewpoint, Tutto. I think in a way, Barton's trying to impress her. He's been born with plenty of money at his disposal. He had a lot to learn about people. I hope something finally brings him to his senses. Meantime, in the cafe in town, two men sat fucking at a corner table. Listen, Joe, did you see that tender hood that was in town with the killby girl? Yeah, what about him, Dusty? I found out in some of the hands of the killby spread that he's got a lot of money. Well, what's he doing working at Killby's? His old man sent him out of here to make a man out of him. What I hear, he don't kill himself doing much work. What do you got on your mind? I notice he comes in the town alone most every day when he's supposed to be riding the range. He always flashes a big roll of cash at the cafe. Well, tomorrow when he leaves town, we'll follow him. And we'll jump him and take that cash. Hey, that'll be risky. I heard some of the killby cowpaw saying that in spite of being a tender hood, he's an expert in shooting the rats and quick on the draw. Look at his old man talking. In that case, we'll plug him from ambush. A curtain falls on the first act of our Lone Ranger adventure. Before the next exciting scenes, please permit us to pause for just a few moments. Continue. The following day, the Lone Ranger and Toto were preparing to ride to town. Yeah, I mean, since... How about the blacksmith's shop? From down the trail came a puppy. I had to investigate. He said he'd be plenty fun. What's the limit? What's the count? Two men on the trail. There's a third man lying in the ground. Must have been an ambush. They're riding their way past. They'll stop and help the wounded, man. We'll tell them later. What's the hold, you said? Easy for that. Hello, it's Bill Buckman. Easy fellow, easy. Have some water. You're max. We're here to help you. Did you get a look at the two men who did this? Yes. They were going to rob me. They shot at me from down the trail. Tried to force me to go with them. I attempted to get away, and they shot me. It's a shoulder wound. Painful, but not serious. Our camp is nearby. We'll take you there. A short time later in the Lone Ranger's camp, Bill Barton, his shoulder expertly vended. Lay on a bed of blankets and watched as the Lone Ranger approached with a cup. They thought roughly good. I don't understand all this. Who are you? Does it matter? Here, I'll help you set up. Thanks. If you hadn't come to my aid, they might have killed me. I'm glad we were nearby, Barton. You know my name? Yes, I've heard of you. After you get me back to the Kilby Ranch, I'll see to it that you're well paid for what you did for me. I have plenty of money. We, uh, we don't want money. We were glad to be able to help you. But if I only knew your name, I'd tell people... Well, you have a lot to learn. Here's the problem. Thanks. Why did you say that, mister? Say what? I have a lot to learn. Sally Kilby said the same thing. You like her, don't you? I do. She's the finest girl I've ever met, but she doesn't like me at all. Well, perhaps you could change her opinion of you. Have you tried? I have tried, but it's no use. Yesterday in town, when I heard about the farmers who wanted that damn finish tie off, they paid for picking you what impressed Sally. That's likely one of the things that turned her against you. What do you mean? Have you ever in your life done anything for anyone without thinking of what it would bring you? Or without trying to impress someone? Well, I... Have you? No. No, I guess I haven't. Just because I am rich, everybody... Money is only a means to an end, Bill. A means by which those who have it can do good. But when you use it only to get what you want, it warps your character and turns people from you. Hey, now you're talking just like my father. Your money hasn't turns how like you'll be against you. But you have. Think it over, Bill. Maybe it will do some good. Now you better take the rest of your broth before it gets cold. While Dusty and Joe had doubled back and written to Tom, they grew rain in front of the cafe. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! Listen, everybody. Where's the sheriff? Here I am, boys. What's up? Tell him, Dusty. We came up to the trail of the cellar here. So an owl hoot wearing a mask and riding to what stadium? It was with an Indian. Yeah. It held up that tent of photos out of the Kilby spread. The rich fellow. They must have heard it about his money. What happened to it? Now put it down, everybody. Quiet down. What happened, Dusty? Well, we tried in a fear, but they drove us off. They put the young Barton and then took him away with them. One of you men ride out and tells Cy Kilby. Resty hit letter. We'll go out with Dusty and Joe and have him show us where it happened. Then we'll trail those owl hoots. Let's go. It was almost dust. At the Long Rangers camp, Bill Barton was sleeping. And the masked man was preparing to leave to trail the two gunmen. Suddenly, Kato stood up, listening. What is it, Kato? Many horses are coming. Yes, I hear them. Then come and hear, Kato. We'll leave, Kato. Oh, I have your guns ready. We'll stay and find out why they come here. The sheriff is bringing a posse. Those guns won't do you much good, mister. We're 10-D or two. If there's a big gun play, you'll get the worst of it. We could have laughed. But we stayed to see that Barton gets proper attention. Here, there's Barton lying over there. Barton's been wounded, but he'll be all right. We heard about what you did, stranger. We got him cold. Lay it on the high net corpse, baby. Now, wait a minute. You're making a big mistake. You're the ones who made the mistake, mister. What do you mean? You were seen holding up Bill Barton. We trailed you here. You shot Barton in the back, and he's probably dead. He didn't have sense enough to get rid of the body before he died. Bill Barton isn't dead. The only ones who could have known he was shot from behind would be the men who really did it. Those men must have reported this to you. What's going on? What's going on? What's so soon? Talk to Barton. Well, son, tell me about these two old hoots. They didn't shoot them, Sheriff. I can describe the two men who did it. Oh, my God! Stop! Up the mess, man! Bug me! The low ranger's keen eyes had seen Dusty level his gun in Bill's direction and had quickly fired to save Bill's life. What's this about? Those two men just leaving better ones. Stop them! I don't have anyone. One of those men tried to shoot Bill Barton before he could talk. Wake up! Dusty and Joe was trying to get away. Sheriff, they reported to you because they thought Barton was dead. They shot him from ambush. They scared them off before they had a chance to rob him. Barton? Are they the men who ambush you? Yes, they're the ones. The masked men are the Indians' Satan. Take Dusty and Joe back to town with this and put them in jail till you press the charges against them. We'll take Bill Barton back to the killby ranch, Sheriff. Good. I'm sorry we come here like this. What's all right? You're wearing that mask. We're not outlawers, Sheriff. Well, nothing against you. We'll be going. Come along, man. Get going, you two. Get the killby ranch. Sally, with her mother and father, voted to appear from the posse. Soon they heard horses stopping outside. Someone's coming out. Oh, Dad, I hope you... Well, soon all that's happened, Sally. I didn't know this would affect you so much. Sir, yes, there's lots of men can't understand. Go open the door. Hey, what's this? We have brought Bill Barton home. A masked man? Oh, it's you, the Indian. They're friends, Mr. Cubick. I know, they helped me once a few months ago. Come on here. Are you all right, Bill? Yes, Mr. Cubick. I'm wounded in the shoulder, but it's not serious. Maybe you... Maybe you went a little too far trying to get publicity. Well, what an urge to come over here. It's all right. Sally thinks I'm no good. Maybe she'll change her mind about me soon. I'm sure she will, Bill. Well, we'll go now, but I'll meet you in town tomorrow afternoon. Are you... What is all this, Bill? How come you let the mask man? He saved my life. The following evening, there was a knock at the door of the Killby rental house. I'll see who it is, Dad. Good evening, Mr. Killby. The mask man. I brought a note for your father. A note for Dad? Yes. Can I hear you say there's a note for me? Yes, Dad. Here it is. What is it, Dad? Well, listen to this. Dear Mr. Killby, since you are one of the investors in the dam, this is to inform you that sufficient funds have been placed in our hands to finish the construction. Work will be continued at once. Very truly yours, John Warren, President, Weston Construction Company. Oh, Dad, that's wonderful. Who put the money, Mr., you know? Someone who wishes to remain anonymous. Oh, Dad and I have tried so long to help the others raise the money to finish the project, but it just seemed hopeless. But now, somehow, someone comes along and put up the entire mod. I'm curious to know who it is. Perhaps he'll tell you someday. Oh, by the way, Bill Barton is waiting outside. Shall I tell him to come in now? Bill? Yes. Tell him to come in. Good. Goodbye, Mr. Goodbye. Oh, Dad, I think Bill is the man who put up that money. Hello, Sally. Come in, Bill. Son, this note just came from Construction Company saying enough money is available to go ahead with the dam. What do you know about it, Mr. Killby? Let's say it was someone who wanted to help, but doesn't want to be known. We can guess who he is. Yeah, and it's a mighty fine thing, too. Bill, I'm sorry for some of the things I've said. I deserved hearing them, Sally. Mr. Killby, from now on you'll find me right on the job. I'm going to learn ranching from the ground up. Now you're talking like the son of Dick Barton. But what about this sudden change, Bill? I found a friend, a real friend, who showed me the value of self-respect. He pointed out that with extra money to spend, I could help the future of the West by bringing in pure stock and breeding fine herds. A dream of every cattleman. It sounds wonderful. My new friend said that by breeding and raising improved stock here in the West, World Market would be open to us. And that the raising of fine livestock would become one of the leading industries of the future in America. Your friend is sure a man of fine vision, son. Yes, he is. Sally, I want you to help me show off as it can be done. I'll need you to remind me now and then about my masked friend if I start slipping. Oh, Bill. But now on is my friend too. Someday we'll call him our friend, Sally. He gave you something to think about that time, Sally. Oh, dad, please. Bill, who is your friend? And why does he wear a mask? He wears the mask so we can do good for others without being known. He's a man who has a great faith in the West and in America. He is the lone ranger.