 A cloud of dust in a hearty house, silver, the lone ranger. With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, the mask rider of the planes led the fight for law and order 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. He's been with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past, from the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse, Silver. The lone ranger rides again. Come on, Silver! Hurry, big pope! On a rocky cliff which overlooked the canyon trail, a man trained his rifle on the moving target below him. He waited until a distant horseman was in perfect alignment with his sights. Then, he squeezed the trigger. The horseman lurched suddenly when the bullet struck him. His hands dropped the bridal reins and grasped the saddle horn. He didn't speak to his horse, but the animal seemed to sense some unseen danger. A moment later, it plunged off the trail and into the thick underbrush. The lone ranger and Tonto, resting in their well-hidden camp, hadn't heard the rifle shot. That's why they were startled when Silver and Scout went in nervously. What's that? Steady Silver! What's strange, Tonto? There's no reason for the horses to be... He must have been. Listen. Not like a horse coming through those cedar breaks. There's no trail there, and... Come on, Tonto. Look! A color-on horse can't be sick. Lay over saddle. Yes, we've got to... Oh, oh, there's Steady Silver! Hold on to him, Tonto. Help this man! He's not sick, Tonto. He's dead. Huh? Well, howl him right? He's been shot through the heart. Evidently, his last conscious act was to grab for the saddle horn. Oh. Wonder who he is, Tonto. He can carry a firing gun, rifle in a saddle boot. I asked, but there must be something in his pockets to... What's that? A badge pinned under his vest, and... Oh, wait a minute. Didn't unsee a letter. You read it? Just tell us who he is, all right. Listen, it's addressed to Chris Forman, Sheriff of Clanton County. This will introduce United States Deputy Marshal, Victor Sheen. I know you will cooperate with him in every way possible. It's surely yours. Signed by the Chief Marshal. Ah. This is from a lawman. Somebody know him come... Shoot first. Looks that way. It probably happened up on the canyon trail. Ah. And what we do? He gets bought into the corn in the next town, and we'll head for Clanton County. You know where it is, Tonto. Ah. Plenty far from here. Right one, maybe two days. I remember correctly. There's a town named Clanton, isn't there? I think it's in that heavily wooded section where they're cutting ties to the new railroad. That's right. Well, we'll head for there the first thing in the morning. Chris Forman, Sheriff of Clanton County, made no secret of how much he enjoyed an invitation to eat dinner at the little log cabin home of Sam Jessup. One of the principal reasons was Carol Jessup. Sam's young and attractive daughter. Some more chicken, Chris? Well, I'd like some, Carol, but I've already eaten so much I can hardly... Oh, that's what fried chickens for. Well, I... Of course you will. Here. Thanks. Now, what was it you were starting to say, Chris? Well, it's really none of my business, Sam, but I think you'd be smart to sell that played-out mine of yours. This is timber-cutting country now. Mining days are over. Maybe not. The Golden Link was a good claim once, and she still is, if it wasn't... Yeah, if it wasn't flooded 10 feet above the lowest level. What good is gold if it can't be mined? Yeah, you're right. But if the Golden Link could just be drained... Every mining engineer you've asked has told you it's impossible. There's no way to control natural water seepage. Everything you say about the Golden Link is true, but... Well, I guess you don't understand how I feel. You see, I made that strike 20 years ago when Carol here was just a little tight when her mother was still alive. I know. And you've taken a lot of paydirt out of it, too. Enough to make a lot of foolish investments back east. To lose most of it and end up just where it started. Then why don't you sell? Leave Baxterle by it for the timber that's on the land. Yeah. Baxter's been pestering me for over two months now. Well, I, uh... I never had nerve enough to say this before, but I've got a house in town. And if Carol will say yes to a question I'm figure on asking her, well, we can all... Why, Chris? I don't blame you, son. I don't blame you bit. Now, you and Carol go right ahead with your plans. I'm getting along in years, and well, I'd sort of like to stay here with the mine. I know how Dad feels, Chris. Yeah. I'm sorry I said it. Oh, that's all right. You've been talking since. When a man reaches my age, he gets kind of foolish and sentimental. Come here, Chris. I want to show you something. Yes? Look up there, just past the ridge. You can see the top of the old Golden Link shaft house. Yeah. What are those lights just above it? Leave Baxter's sawmill. Oh, yeah. I've never been up there since he built it, but I hear he's working a crew night and day, cutting timber into ties for the railroad. Yeah, I know. Baxter built a flume, too, so he can float his tie links down the mountain. Doesn't the roar of the waternet thing bother you? Sharks, no. It's not any louder than Cedar Falls used to be before they tapped it for the flume. You know, it's been two years since I've been up to the mine. I think... Now, Dad, remember what the doctor told you about climbing. Oh, don't you worry. Well, I've got to be riding back to town. I enjoyed the dinner a lot, Carol. Thank you. Who's yours? Lee Baxter. Good evening, folks. Howdy, Sam. How are you, Baxter? It's Jessup. Good evening. We were just looking at your sawmill, Baxter. How's it going? Fine. Fine. Crew's cutting almost a thousand tie links a day. Sounds pretty busy from here. Yeah, but I'm going to need more timber before the season's over. That's why I rode over to see Sam. How about it, Jessup? Have you changed your mind about selling that old mine inside of yours? No, Baxter. I don't want to sell. That sounds pretty definite. It is. And his reason's a good one. No harm in trying. You riding back to town, Sheriff? Yep, right now. Come here, boy. No. Thanks again for the dinner, Carol. Come out whenever you can, Crew. Oh, by the way, Sheriff, I got some news for you. That's all? One of the stage drivers was telling me he spotted a couple of hombres headed this way. They don't sound exactly like useful citizens. What do you mean? Tallgeant wearing a mask and a red-skinned riding with him. Must be owl hoots, I guess. I'll leave my eyes peeled. Well, you heading for town? Yeah, I'll go peace with him. Good night, Carol. Sam? Good night. Get up. Get up. I just might leave Baxter more every time I see him. Oh, he's all right, I guess. Just ambitious, that's all. One stone every stick of timber in the mountains. I don't see how Chris can be so friendly with him. Carol, I'm going to walk up to the mine. The mine? Dad, you know you're not strong enough to climb up there. Besides, it's dark. A long time ago, your mother and I used to walk to the mine most every night. I guess I'm sort of lonesome tonight, Carol. Well, I'd like to go. All right, Dad. Go ahead. But be careful. Well, I'll be all right. Don't wait up for me, Carol. The build of the Golden Link Mine was steep. Climbing it with legs that were no longer young forced Sam Jessup to stop many times and rest. As he approached the abandoned shaft house, he could hear men working and leave Baxter's sawmill a short distance away. Suddenly, Sam Jessup detected another sound, one which he could hardly believe. What? That's the hoist engine in the shaft house. How can that be running when... Hey, what? You never figured you could... I see what you're doing. I have a good idea why you're doing it. Then Chris Foreman, the sheriff, was seated in his office when the door opened suddenly. Are you the sheriff, Chris Foreman? Yes, I... Masked. And a red skin. What's the idea? That's who you are. I have a letter for you. You have a... All right, give me the letter. You are? Oh. So you're Victor Shane, Deputy Marshal, huh? Victor Shane is dead. He was ambushed on a trail east of here. Yeah? My Indian friend and I reported the murder. Then we're on here to help. You come in here wearing a mask and tell me a man's been murdered. If Shane is dead, you and this red skin probably killed him. I've told you exactly what happened, Sheriff, and I... Reach! Get your hands up, both of you. I... Anything you say, Sheriff. Oh, I think we'll be able to find out... Chris! Chris, I... Nothing to be afraid of, Carol. I'm just holding a bead on a couple of wood-be-owl hoots. Chris, dad has been killed. What? Last night up at the mine. He was shot. Come on, Toto. What the... You're covered, Sheriff. Keep your guns lowered. Oh, you... You came up here to help you. That's what I intend to do, with or without your permission. Open the door, Toto. Stay there till I'm away. Wh... Who are they, Chris? Makes no difference. Finding out who killed your dad is more important than a couple of owl hoots. Where did it happen? At the mine. He... he went up there alone, and I... Come on. That's where we're going. I must be the mine they were talking about, Toto. Only went around here. I believe the horse is here. Come on. Uh... Why do we go to mines? That girl, I never heard of her father, or why he was killed. They must have some connection with the deputy marshal's murder. This is as good a place as any to start looking. He must have been... Yes? What's that? Ditch with water. Up in there. The flume, Toto. I mean that savvy flume. There must be a sawmill nearby. They have built a wooden flume from here to the bottom of the mountain by diverting a stream into it, they can transport logs that ties over to great distance in a very short time. Oh. And here's a shaft house for the mine. Looks deserted. It hasn't been used for years. Oh, uh... Try the door, Toto. Ah. Hmm. There's an old horse engine, the boiler and cable. Someone's in here. Ah. Me think, quiet, Toto. Somebody talking at the side of the boiler. Another thing that you shouldn't be hanging around here. The boss won't like it. Yeah? Listen, Fogg. And down here on the boss's orders, he sent me. Why? To look for something. And another. Hey, wait. You can say that when you look out and see who just rode up outside. The sheriff and old man tested the girl. What do we do? Well, the same thing the boss would do. Well, you're cluttered. When they come through the door, we'll let them have it. I don't know what the plan is, Toto, but we're in the middle. So this is where we draw some cards? Uh-uh. You ready? Come on. Here where you're found, your father, Carol. Come on, Carol. Stay down. On the first act of our Lone Ranger story, before the next exciting scenes, please permit us to pause for just a few moments. Continue our story. Although he didn't want to reveal his hiding place, the Lone Ranger knew that Chris Foreman and Carol Jessup were no match for the gunman who opposed them. The masked man unholstered his twin colts. An instant later, they were spitting flame and lead. Hey, look. Look. That looks coming from the other side of the boyfriend. See? Nobody wearing a mask. And a red-skinned side in them. Chris! Chris, those are the same outdoors. Yeah. That means it's... No, Chris, no! They're helping! I'll let guns empty, but I can still get you. Kim and Fubby, we train them. No, Tullo, I want to get out of here before we have to answer any questions from the sheriff. Now, floor with the mask. Why don't we have you hide in the hall? Wait, Tullo, use your gun. Break that window. Uh-huh. Let's get out of here. Where'd they go? Yeah, me without a slugging, my gun to stop them. Aren't they the men who were in your office? Sure they are. This is the second time they've put it in. But Chris, they weren't shooting at us. They were firing at those other two. Yeah. I can't figure it out. I never saw any of them before. Maybe they were here last night. That's why I can't... Wait a minute, Carol. What's wrong? I just thought of something. That masked gent gave me a letter. Said that Vic Shane, a deputy marshal, had been killed east of here. What does that mean? Nothing, except it reminds me of another letter I got about two weeks ago. And I... Well, come on. Let's go back to the office. Laman and girl, get on horses the right way. Good. Come on. We'll take another look around that shaft house. I don't want to kill Sheriff. Who then? I don't know, Toto. Have you heard one of them say he'd been sent here to look for something? Yeah, the trouble is there's really nothing here unless it... Oh, wait. Over there under the boiler. What's that? Well, it looked like pizza man. Let me see it, will you? Oh, yeah. Here, can I have something? This is a wrench, Toto. It's new, not rusted like the boiler cable drum. Uh, it's me not savvy, wrench. Well, it's used to open or close a valve in a large pipe. Oh, maybe a pipe in mine, huh? It might be, we'll find out. Come on. Here's the shaft. The horse isn't working. We can use that. It should be a ladder to... No, we can't get down there, Toto. What? What ladder? It's flooded. Look, you can see the water level from here. Oh, wrench no good. I don't know. It may be on the wrong trail. I think it's time to have a talk with Sheriff Foreman. Call your horse, Toto. Here's Silver. Here's Scout. Come on, Silver. Get him up the stout. That ladder's here in the drawer someplace. I know it is. Oh, here it is. Who is it from, Chris? The United States Marshal. Now I think I understand at least part of it. Part of what? The reason your father was killed. And that deputy who was coming here to investigate. What do you mean? The descriptionist ladder. A man here in Clinton has a floret complexion. Dark hair and... Chris, that could be Lee Baxter. Sure. And I never realized it till right this minute. The letter says something about gold. There hasn't been any gold here since... since your dad closed the mine. Well, that's a question Baxter's going to answer in person. If he had anything to do with it, when are you going to see him? Right now. As soon as I reload my gun. I'm going with you. Where's the boss? Well, in the office, I guess. What are we going to tell him? Well, just what happened. It ain't our fault the sheriff and the girl got nosy or that some masked ombre horned in. Yeah, but I didn't find the valve wrench. Come on. Where have you two been? Give me the wrench, Libby. Got to turn water into the flume before something... I couldn't find it, boss. Looked all over that shaft hole. Ah, you're local. I dropped it there last night. Well, it ain't there now. Why, he's right. I was with him when he ran into a little trouble. What kind of trouble? Well, Chris Fulman and the Jessup girl showed up there. What? Yeah. Fogg and I tried to gun them down. But just on a mass critter, an engine popped up and... Mass critter and... You're lying. One of his bullets creased my hand. There's no light of that. Look, in this slug in my shoulder is no drain. No lawn and engine. Can't be the same. Do you know, boss? Dog, get out of here. Both of you. Find some way to cut water into the flume. And keep your eyes peeled. Just about the sheriff headed this way. Let me know. Oh, yeah, sure. Go on. Get a move on. In the meantime, the Lone Ranger and Tato had reached the sheriff's office in Clanton and found it empty. He's not here, Tato. Judging from the letter I saw lying on his desk, he creates the same conclusion I have. What that? I may be wrong. It's all guesswork so far. City silver? Where we go, King Mithavi? The sawmill above that old mine. Come on, silver. Oops, cut. We're headed this way. I can see them on the trail. They're almost here. Who? What a sheriff and that Jessup girl. What the... Keep out of sight. In the next room, hurry. Yeah. Prove a thing. Even if he can, all I have to do is to... All right. Well, hello there, Sheriff, and Miss Jessup. Don't see you folks up this way very often. Hello, Baxter. You like to see the mill? I'd be glad to show it to you. All we want from you, Baxter, is some answers to a few questions. Questions? What do you mean? Like, where were you last night? Right after supper time. Boy, I was with you. We rode together from the Jessup place, remember? For a few minutes. And you took a side trail, headed up this way. What of it? Sam Jessup was killed last night, shot to death. When he walked into the shaft house of his Golden Link mine. You're under arrest, Baxter. And now I want to know where the gold you've been shipping out of Clanton comes from. Why, you... Fuck, Libby! Chris, behind you! Watch out! Grab her, Libby! Set her up! I got him both, boss! Now, by the way, I'm not here. Take them down to the log set at the bottom of the mountain. But what's the idea? Libby, just cut the water into the flume. Yeah, I turned that valve without a wrench. Use some leverage with a piece of rope. Yeah, never mind that. It's the flume full now. Yeah. Good. Now, hurry up and do what I say. You can drag the sheriff, Fogg. Libby, keep that girl quiet. The men on the horses. Carrying another man and a girl. I'd say the ones we saw down at the mine. I'm head down trail. Other side to sawmill. Yes, I... Come on, Silver! Get off! Better talk and talk fast. Who was that man being carried out of here from the girl? I don't know what you mean. Tell the truth. Was it the sheriff and Sam Jessup's daughter? I... Yeah. Where are they being taken? Oh, the log shed down the bottom of the mountain. There's nothing you or anybody else can do about it. The boys will keep them down there. The logs come down. I can get there first. Toto, tie him up. We'll come back for him later. We'll leave to it. Then come to the flume. I may need some help. Hey, crook. Very good. What do you do, Kimosami? This is the kind of log raft, Toto. They call it a crib. Let me lift it into the flume. Ah, happy house. If I can just manage to stay with it until I reach the bottom of the mountain. You ride it like boat? The only way I can think of to reach the log shed ahead of those men. Hey, take the horses and meet me down there. You do something plenty dangerous. I'm gonna not like it. There's no other way. Here I go, Toto. Across to the swiftly rushing current of the mountain flume, the low ranger was carried along at a terrific speed. The narrow wooden aqueduct twisted and turned a dozen different ways. But the masked man clinging firmly to his tiny raft rode grimly on. Finally, he could see the base of the flume where it emptied into a shallow lake near the log shed. Like a man grasping a skyrocket, he tensed himself and prepared for the hurtling leap into the lake. A few seconds later, he climbed out of the water and ran quickly toward the log shed. I didn't get there any too soon. Hey, well, look. It's a mask, man. Yeah, but this is one time he wanted me alone. Well, that's the thing you don't learn from experience. Get off those horses and release the sheriff and the girl. I can't figure it out. Why just mask, Chris? You heard me. You was your told. Oh, thank heaven. I don't know who you are, but Chris and I owe our lives to you. We're all going back up to the sawmill. There are a lot of questions to be answered. It was much later that day when Carol and Chris Foreman finally returned to the sheriff's office and clamped. Everything's happened so fast, Chris. I'm still bewildered. Yeah, but they all worked out all right. That's the important thing. Then what the mask, man, guessed was really true. Lee Baxter flooded the Golden Link mine and kept it flooded to fool Dad and everybody else. That's right. And every night he turned the water out of the mine and into his flume so he could take gold from the mine. Dad must have discovered it last night, so... so he killed him. Yeah. He'll hang for that. And for murdering a deputy marshal, too. Well, will the other two men go to jail? Of course. Some other folks here in town will take over Lee Baxter's tie-cutting camp. And your mine, the Golden Link, is as good as ever. You're rich, Carol. I wish Dad could have lived to see it. He always said the Golden Link would never break, and that's why he gave it that name. Carol, do you think you'd still be interested in that question I was going to ask? Of course. All right. Well, that's great. You know, I wish he'd stayed around a little bit longer so we could thank him for everything he did. He? You mean... That man in the mask. The Lone Ranger.