 A fiery horse with a speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty high old silver, the Lone Ranger. With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, 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 come the thundering hoofbeats of a great horse, Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again. The city of the dead was near the border. No one knew how the community of cliff dwellings that had been unoccupied for as long as anyone could remember came by that name. Not even Don and Peggy Dawson who lived in a sprawling Dolby Ranch house not far away. Their father had lived in that house and so had their grandfather. But Don and his sister were the only ones left of the family. They lived in the Dolby house alone and for the past few days they had felt an atmosphere of mystery. It was past midnight. The house was dark except for a small lamp in one room. The single window of that room had been covered with a blanket so no light could be seen outside. Don and the girl were tense as they sat facing the door. The boy held a shotgun across his knees. Peggy, did you hear anything? Watch! It sounded like a creaking board in the floor. Wait, we'll listen. I was imagining things. Maybe they won't come tonight. I hope they do. Don, how can you see them? I do. I want to find out what's going on around here. There's prowlers around and I'm going to catch them. They're going to talk and talk plenty. What if they catch us? Let them try it. I'll blow them to glory. Besides, they won't know where we are. That's why I covered the windows to hide the light. They'll think we're going to bed. I hope so. I'm fed up with people prowling around our house night after night. Don? Huh? What do you suppose they're after? Don't ask me. We haven't anything worth stealing. Well, they must have some reason for coming around. They must have. You remember what father told us, don't you? About that money grandfather's supposed to have hidden? Yes. I don't believe it. I don't think he ever had any fortune in gold. Oh, but he talked about it so much. Then why hasn't the money ever been found? Well, no one knew where to look. Oh, now look, Piggy. If he left a lot of gold hidden somewhere, don't you suppose he'd have a map or some kind of instructions as where to find it? Maybe he did. We don't know. Maybe he did leave a map and it's been lost. Or what? Well, father said there were some outlaws across the border who'd been threatening grandpa. He got that gold together by selling almost everything he had. That this house in the land it stands on. Then he hid the gold and left this part of the country. But the outlaws found him and killed him. No, all that, Piggy. What about it? Well, maybe he died before he had a chance to make a map or tell anyone where the money was hidden. Well, maybe those crooks got it. If there ever was any hidden gold. Well, maybe the money was hidden right here in this house. Maybe these men who've been breaking in and prowling around learned about it somehow. Well, maybe that's what they're looking for. Oh, Piggy, if that money was hidden here, we'd know about it. Oh, look, the door! Hey, you there! No! The lamp! He shot out the light! Who did that? Where are you? Come back here! Oh, Don, I can't see a thing! I can't find it! Get the door open! Get out of the way! I can't! Piggy, we're locked in. The lone ranger and the tunnel were camped not far from the Dawson Ranch. The soft whinny of silver awakened them from sleep. What is it, Silver? What's wrong, color? They put here to ground. Maybe here. What is it, Tutto? Horses. They come this way fast. Dump your canteen on the fire. I'll get this one. Uh-uh. Why are you so low now? Don't want any fire. Who ride at this time of night? I don't know. Uh-uh. Fire it out now. Good. All right, Silver. Quiet, boy. You've done your part. Men and fellers travel plenty fast. Coming from the direction of the Dawson Ranch and heading toward the city of the dead. Four men. You may not see faces of fellers. You seem? No, it was too dark, Tutto. But they could have come from just one place. Dawson Ranch? Yes, it's the only one around here. I wonder if they've made trouble for Don and Piggy. We go find out. Yes, come on, settle it. Uh-uh. In less than a minute, both horses were saddled and the lone ranger and Tutto were ready for riding. Then the masked man's voice rang out on the still night air. Oh, still they're not scoundrels. They approached the Dawson Ranch and saw lights in every window of the low building. Oh, still they're not scoundrels. They reigned up, dismounted, and wrapped on the door. Piggy opened the door and leaped to one side. You're covered, Dawson. Oh, he's mad. Get him up or I'll blow you up. Tell him, Don. Lower that shut gun. Get him up, I'll tell you. Get him up for our shoes. You won't shoot a friend of your father and grandfather. When Don don't close the door. Don, don't put his hands up. I better take that shut gun. No! Why? Now, take it easy. We came here to see if you were in trouble. Who are you? I told you. But father didn't have any outlaw friends. Is that mad? You're right, Piggy. He had no outlaw friends and were not outlaw friends. We saw four men running away from here. We thought you might have had trouble. Don, this man talks like a friend. Perhaps he can help us. I don't know how. Who were those men? They've been prowling around here every night for the past several nights. Tonight, Don and I try to catch him. But they locked us in one of the small rooms. They locked us in this house, a mighty sound. We were over an hour getting out. Well, we didn't dare move for over half an hour. A man waited outside the door and threatened to shoot if we tried to get him out. What did they want? It's just it. We don't know. They're looking for something. Gold. Why do you say that? What makes you think they'd be looking for gold? Really? We don't know what they were looking for. Nothing in this house was stealing. But they did take the Indian rock. You steal and insist they took it, Piggy. But I think you're wrong. I think it's just mislead. It might have been gone for weeks. No, Donna. I'm sure it was in this house just yesterday. Well, even if they stole it, it doesn't mean anything. What was the rug like? Just a little rug. About two feet square. A grandpa got it from a Navajo squaw. Did the men take anything else? I don't think so. Lighted lamps all over the house so we could make a complete search. You can see for yourself. Not much anyone could carry away. Don, I've heard stories about some gold. Your grandfather was supposed to have hidden it in this house. Oh. Isn't that why those men came here? Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is. After all these years, why should anyone suddenly decide to come here and search for the gold? I can't answer that question, Piggy. The fact is, if you heard about gold, other people probably heard about it, too. You said you were locked in a room with a man standing guard outside. That's right. You could have been kept there indefinitely, couldn't you? Oh, yeah. The fact that the men went away and left you indicates that they've found what they came for. What? You think it was the rug? I think it must have been. But why? Why would anyone want a dinky little two-foot rug? They can probably find out from the men who took it. Potto, the time we get back to our camp, the moon will have risen. Perhaps we can find the trail. I don't know. Let me try it. Are you going to trail those men by moonlight? Yes, Don. Then I'm going with you. And I? Very well. I'll go saddle horses, Piggy. I'll have them ready in just a minute. Tonto's progress in following the trail by moonlight was quite slow, but he kept on, setting the path for the Lone Ranger, Don Dawson, and his sister, Piggy. Daybreak found the quartet still in the saddle. We'll be able to make better time from now on. You sure we're still on the right trail? Yes, I'm sure we're left. We're going north of the border, aren't we? Yes. Somewhere else, Piggy. We're riding in a beeline for the city of the dead. There was a pause for breakfast. Then after a short rest, the group continued throughout the morning. After a halt at noon, the journey went on until darkness gathered. It was quite dark when the Lone Ranger signaled a halt at a narrow pass between towering cliffs. By this time, the Masked Man had won the complete friendship and confidence of Don and Piggy Dawson. They were willing to follow his lead and act on any suggestions he made. It's up to you, Mr. It's up to you, Mr. If you think we'd ought to shove on, well, Piggy, now I'll do it. Well, we've covered a lot of ground. Perhaps your sister's too tired to go any farther. How about it, Piggy? Oh, I'm not a bit tired. Traveling as slowly as we have, I was able to do it in the saddle several times. Where are we, anyway? We must be closer to the city of the dead. This pass opens into the valley of the cliff dwellings. Isn't that right, Tutto? Uh-huh. That's right. You think this is where the Four Men came? Well, tracks come here. Well, I guess they must have come here. It wouldn't be tracks otherwise. A place like this kind of... that kind of gives me the creeps. What? Don Dawson, are you afraid? Of course not. There are a lot of good hiding places in those old cliff dwellings. It might be well to make camp right here and continue on its life. What? And let those rogue stealers get that much farther ahead of us? After treading them this far, I want to catch them. Whatever you say, Peggy. Don, I'm sure Grandpa left gold, and I'm sure those men who stole the rug know something about it. All right. I guess if Peggy can go on, I can. So it's up to you. Well, we'll shove on if Tutto can follow the tracks. Me, follow him. Get him up the counter. Come on, boy. Come on. Tutto led the way with a masked man at his side. Don and his sister brought up the rear until young Dawson speeded up to reach the lone range his side. Oh, hold there. Oh, easy, boy. Easy, easy. I want to speak to you for just a minute. Yes, Don. What is it? You sure we're still on the trail of those men? I know it doesn't continue when we lose the trail. This place, this valley, it's getting on my nerves. Why? Look at all those caves on the wall of the valley. Those black holes. Look like eyes. Eyes that are staring at us. Ready, steady, Don. I'll let your imagination run away with you. Peggy's been telling me stories about this place. Lots of stories about it. Are they true? No. There's nothing supernatural about this or any other place. But this is the city of the dead, isn't it? Well, it's called that because it tried to used to live here. It died out. You better get back and stay with your sister. Yeah, I guess I better. Come on, boy. Get it on there. You all right, sis? Hey, wait. Oh, right up to the... Look where's Peggy. She's not in the saddle. Peggy! Peggy, where are you? 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. It was dark in the valley that was known as the city of the dead. The moon had not yet risen, and the only light came from stars. There was light enough to show that Peggy's horse was riderless. Though less than ten paces in the rear of her brother, Tonto and the Lone Ranger, the girl had disappeared without a sound. As soon as her absence was discovered, the Lone Ranger wheeled his mighty stallion around. He'll go over the back trail. Follow me. The Lone Ranger set the pace and traveled as fast as possible in the direction from which they had come. Where's he going? You see. A masked man maintained the pace until he reached a place where trees grew close to the trail. Why are you stopping here? I remembered this tree. We had a duck beneath this branch. He's a big fella. I want to examine the ground around here. What about Peggy? What about my sister? Wait a minute, wait a minute. Stand watch, Tonto. Uh-uh. Hey, Savvy. Did you find something? Yes. There's some freshly torn leaves, some broken twigs beneath the tree. What's that mean? Don, listen to me and be sure you answer the question accurately. You remember running beneath this branch? Well, yeah. Yeah, I do. You were ahead of your sister? Yeah. The trail was so narrow, we had to go single-fire. I told her I'd go ahead. Did you see her after that? No, come to think of it. When I was ahead, I rode up to join you and Tonto. Well, I see what you mean. Someone could have waited on that branch and grabbed her. She went beneath it. That's what I think. Well, why didn't she cry out? Perhaps she couldn't. Tonto, I think I know which way she was taken. Huh? The horse had been close. When we came by, we'd probably have seen it. I think the man who captured Peggy came from the wall of the valley to the tree and went back the same way. Well, that ridge up there. Yes. And she's in one of those caves and there's hundreds of them. Those crooks might be hiding anywhere. How can we possibly find them? You think Tonto can follow the tracks? No tracks on stone. We'll have to leave our horses here and follow that ridge on foot. All right, Don. Give me your hand. Here. Up with you. There. All right, Dono. We're on the ridge. The rest should be easy. There's a regular path winding up above. The Indians who once lived here must have carved it out of the rock in order to get down into the valley from their caves and back up again. Let's keep going. All right, come on. You see anything ahead? Do you hear anybody? No. They heard Peggy out. Don't think about that, Don. We've got to find her as quickly as we can. Do they crooks? Keep your voice down. Watch your step. If you slip, you'll have a bad fall. Getting pretty high. This path goes all the way to the top row of caves. We can just make them out. Well, I want to know. Where is that? Hey, what the? Wait. It's just a warning. Stop right where you are. Him up that way. We're going to get you. If you take one more step ahead, our next shot will be aimed at kill. Who are you? Who are you anyway? That's something you'll never know. Go on and hit the back trail before it opens fire. Just a minute, Don. Did you capture Miss Dawson? We did. If you do just what I say, she'll be sent back to your safe and sound. Let's rush him. And the second warning, young fella. If you try and rush him, you'll find out that the Indians were mighty smart and built in this place so they could keep their enemies at a distance. He's right, Don. We can't go away and leave Peggy. As four of us here, we can shoot from behind rocks. That's not enough to convince you that you'd better turn tail. We're open fire. What about my sister? It's up to you whether she lives or dies. If we leave here, would you promise to let Peggy Dawson go? You have orders to go and be released. Listen to me. It's too dark to see anything now, but we'll meet your proposition halfway. Meaning what? We have to have proof that you're holding Peggy Dawson captive. We'll go below where we left our horses and wait there until daybreak. You'll go farther than that, Miss. We will if you've told the truth. At daybreak, you bring Miss Dawson to the ledge where we can see her. So we'll know that she's alive and unharmed. If she is, we'll move on. Oh, wait a minute, Miss. That's a deal. Go back to your horses. We'll show you the Dawson girl up here on this ledge as soon as it gets daylight. Very well. Come on, Don. We'll go back to the horses. Leave Peggy with those critters. Come on, I say. I won't do it. I won't believe a word they say. They don't dare there to go. Can't you see that? They'd promise anything to get rid of us. You better do what maskmen say, Don. Put down or they'll kill my sister. They shoot you. They'll be facing a murder charge as well as a charge of theft of a Navajo rug. In that case, it'll be less likely to let your sister go. Now, come on. That's good advice, Dawson. You'd better follow it. You're going to follow it whether you want to or not. Let go. Let go, ma'am. On your way. Bonded, oh, why'd you drag me down here? Those critters didn't have the stomach for gunplay. I bet we could have rushed them with a 50-50 chance of out-shooting them. Don, you don't know much about the way the Indians planted the fence when they built these ridges. One man with a gun could stand off a dozen. That's right, Don. Trust in those pole cats. They'll think that Peggy's up there probably tired and gagged. Your sister will be safe until daybreak. They know they have to let us see her. Even so, that doesn't mean they let her go. We're not going to take them at their word. What do you mean? I think we can outwit them. Outwit them? You and Tuttle have got to do exactly what I say. If you'll promise to do that, I'll outline my plan. I'll promise anything to save Peggy's life. All right. Now listen to me. Soon after the Lone Ranger and his companions were settled in camp, a lean-faced man replaced Bart as guard at the mouth of one of the many caves that studded the wall of the valley. Slim remained on duty until daybreak, and he went inside to join the leader. Beasley, you said you wanted to be sure to get up at daybreak. Bart and Gary are back in the tunnel. Got to take the girl out on the ledge so she can be seen by her brother. Yeah. He and his pals are camped out in the open where we can see him. Miss Peggy, we don't hang her to hurt no one, unless it's necessary. We're giving your brother a chance to leave the valley alive with those two pals of his. He'll never leave as long as I'm here. Untired, Slim. Right. He'll leave if he sees you alive and well. He won't. Your brother's no fool. Knows he can't help you by staying around. We told him if he and his pals cleared out, we'd let you go when we get through here. You won't let me go, Beasley. You knew you won't. You don't dare. She's untied. Now what? Get your rifle, all right? If the girl makes trouble, shoot her brother. Come on. Oh, you wouldn't. Wouldn't I? Oh, I guess you wouldn't. I'll go with you. Ah, you're showing good sense. Will you really let me go? Sure, of course we will. Here's the ledge. There they are, Beasley. You can even see the three of them in their horses. Eh, one's already in the saddle. Wave to your brother. That's it. Slim, they're going to keep their promise. They're shoving out. Yeah. You stay here in the ledge and keep watching in case any more visitors come this way. Right? You, Miss Peggy, get back inside. Come on, come on. What are you going to do now? I'm sorry about this, Miss Peggy. But I can't take any chances. I'll let you go, you squeal on us. You mean you can... I reckon you serve us. Oh, you... Bring it here. We found it right where the instruction said. Slot plenty tight. Stand back. I'll fix that. Now take a look. See if that busted the lock. We did. Told you, boys, I'd show you how to get rich. I told you that old squirrel knew what she was talking about. How's that cash look to you? Not bad, huh? That's my money. It belongs to Don and me. It's the money Grandfather left. I guess you're just about right, Miss Peggy. How did you find it? Tell her, Bart. Tell her how you found it. It was easy after we got hold of that Navajo rug. Oh, the Navajo rug? Sure. Your Grandpa had a squaw weave the rug so the pattern was a map of these here caves and tunnels. He was, uh, killed before he had a chance to tell anyone the meaning of the rug. Now, Peggy, I'm afraid you have to be killed before you can tell what you know. You can kill me, Bisley. But remember this, you won't get away with it. My brother left here because you promised to let me go. If you break that promise, he'll come back. He'll get you if it's the last thing he does. That's big talk, Miss Peggy. But there's just one trouble. Your brother won't have any idea who to look for. Yes, he will. What? Who is it? All of you get your hands up. Where are you? Who is it? That boy. That boy. Hey, boss, what's the matter? That goes for you, too. He's over there. Now, song. Oh, no. Different than it was last night. Now, I have no other support of fire by a rock. Play. Don't shoot. My hands are up. And mine. Drop to the floor. Oh, who is you? Hurry with those gun bells. Think them up, Peggy. I'll get them. Where'd you come from? I saw you right away from the valley a few minutes ago. I'll satisfy your curiosity. You saw a dummy in the saddle of my horse. A dummy? I spent the whole night making my way up here through the system of tunnels that connect all these caves. I love all the cussed luck. Just when we had our hands on a fortune. Line up over there and face the wall. I'm going to tie you up. I can help keep the colors. Good. And don't take any chances with them, Peggy. Any one of them makes a fast move. Shoot. I'll get some clothes for you and books. Oh, golly, Peggy will have everything. You know, Don, it doesn't seem right. All this money and that masked man wouldn't take a single dime. I know it, Peggy, but I should try to split it with him. How did he know his way through that system of tunnels? Well, I don't know how he knew that, sis, but I do know how he knew about us and the secret of the hidden gold. Oh, how? Well, that Indian friend of his knew an old squaw. She told Towner about the rug she wore years and years ago. She's the one told Beasley and Bart about it, too. Are all four of those men in jail now? Oh, they sure are, and they'll stay there. Don, I want you to find that masked man and bring him back here. I want to see him without his mask and tell him how much we owe him. Now, hold on, Peggy, back up. He won't come here and he wouldn't take off his mask if he did and he doesn't want anything. How do you know? Because he's the lone ranger.