 A fiery horse with a speed of light, a clod of dust and a hearty high of silver, the lone ranger. With his faithful Indian companion, Tato, the daring and resourceful mass 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. Coming with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. From out of the past come the thundering hoofbeats of the great horse Silver, the lone ranger rides again. As the lone ranger and Tato reigned up on top of a hill, they could see the band of Indians halfway down the slope. Yes, shooting at someone down below. Though I see them, Tato, four men, they're soldiers. The Indians have them pinned down. They'll give them a hand. The lone ranger and Tato took cover. As soon as they opened fire, the Indians realized they had no protection from the bullets. They leaped to their horses and raced on down the boulder, strewn slope. We follow Indians, Kimitabi. We know where their camp is. Those soldiers may need our help. Looks to me as if some of them are wounded. Easy, big fool. Easy. When they reached the base of the hill, they saw that two of the men were still lying on the ground. A third bent over them. The fourth, a young lieutenant, was standing erect, waving a greeting. Suddenly, his arm dropped. You seen my mass? Maybe him shoot? I don't think so. He ain't going for his gun. Hi, mister. I see you wear a mask. I got the mask, lieutenant. I aim to. You maybe want it all over the West, but all I want to do is shake your hand. We were in a tight spot. Yes, we could see that. How are your men? Easy, big fool. Two of them are hurt pretty bad. Don't handle. Don't don't help fix them. I'd say it's your no friend of those mangy coyotes that were shooting at us. No, lieutenant. Some of the braids have followed Black Eagle when he broke away from his father's tribe. Thunderclaws' tribe. Yes. These men are renegades, all of them. About a hundred camped out in the hills. When's the army going after them? If you'll mean the troops at Fort Gurney, my guess is it won't be till we get a new commanding officer. And Stoneface thinks they'll confirm him as commandant and give him a promotion. Oh, that's too bad the colonel had to die. Yeah. Well, that happened before I got here. But from what the men say, I know you're right. And it's too bad Captain Dawson didn't have the rank to replace him. Now, there's an officer for you. The men love him. He's a real soldier. But Stoneface. Major Pollard. He doesn't belong on the frontier. He doesn't even belong in the army. Hey, I never even mentioned his name. How do you know so much about the post? I'm getting scared. There's no need to be. Maybe you know my name, too. You must be Lieutenant Haynes. You came here from West Point two months ago. I am scared. You're wearing a mask and I've been talking too much. I'm not an outlaw, Lieutenant. You haven't told me anything. I don't know. D, in a way, I'm working for the army right now. Honest? Yes. If you won't talk to me to show you where Black Eagle is camped, we will. Well, I sure do. But I've got to get these men back to the post. Yes, yes, of course. I can't go to the post with you, and I don't want you to tell Major Pollard you've talked with me. If you can persuade him to let you scout the hills alone the night, I'll meet you in the woods near the port. That's a deal. Just one more thing, Lieutenant. Have you any idea where Black Eagle and his braves are getting army rifles? What's that? I see you don't. I couldn't have army rifles. The newest and best, that's all. I'll think back. How far away were those Indians who wounded your men? Try to judge the range. Why, it must have been, say, that's right. Mention it to the Major and see what his reaction is. I'll do that. Your men are getting to their feet. And the Indian sure knows how to treat a old Lieutenant. Both Johnson and Wells figure they can ride back now. Ah, that's fine. And, uh, Murphy, when we do get back, we won't say anything about meeting the mass man of the Indian. I get you, sir. One good turn deserves another. Thank you, Sergeant. Very tunnel, easy big foot. We're ready. All right, let's go. Adios, once again. Hasta luego. On his return to the fort, young Lieutenant Haynes reported to Major Pollard at once. The Major listened in silence, with his eyes cold and disapproving. And so, sir, we took care of Johnson and Wells, bandaged their wounds, and then, well, we all returned to the fort. And you made no attempt at all to follow the Indians. No, sir. Two of them were wounded. They rode back to the fort, didn't they? They're in the hospital now, sir. The fact remains that you made no attempt to follow the Indians. No, sir. Have you anything to add to this confession of complete failure? Yes, sir. One thing, sir. I believe the Indians were armed with the newest and best army rifles. Will you repeat that, please? Slowly. I believe the Indians were armed with the newest and best army rifles. And what led you to make that remarkable deduction? The range of their arms, sir. Perhaps you have a theory as to how renegade Indians might be able to obtain army rifles. No, sir. Are you offering this remarkable flight of imagination as an excuse for your failure to capture these Indians? No, sir. Lieutenant, more and more, I'm becoming aware that you're not fitted for duty on this post. I shall arrange a transfer at once. Yes, sir. As soon as Lieutenant Haynes had left his office, the major sent for Asa Jones, the post-civilian storekeeper. When he arrived, the guard outside was dismissed and the door was locked. What's up? Haynes just reported the Indians are using army rifles. How'd he get on to that? He's guessing. What gave me idea? Simple. The range. Yeah, but he's got no proof. He can't tie us up with them. I'm getting rid of him. Good. And there's somebody else you should get rid of. You mean Dawson? I do. Well, it's easy enough to send in a bad report on Haynes and have him transferred. It isn't possible with Dawson. There are other ways. Such as? He wants to go after the Indians in the hills. Black Eagles paid us well to be left alone. And you'll pay more. I can use his gold. I'm not suggesting a double cross. Give Dawson just one troop. What would that be but a double cross? And warn Black Eagle in advance. One troop, 60 men. Black Eagle has 100. He could fix up the neatest little ambush he ever saw. Captain Dawson would never come back. It looked bad for me to lose that many men. You're good at reports. You can make it seem to be all his fault. What do you think? I think there's no time like the present. Tell him I want to see him. Right now? Yes. Well... Good work, Major. Captain Dawson reporting as ordered, sir. Captain, I have a mission for you. I want you to take Troopa and clean those renegade Indians out of the hills. Yes, sir. You leave here at 10 o'clock tonight. Tonight, sir? At 10 o'clock. Lieutenant Haynes will be your second in command. But what's the matter? Nothing, sir. You don't seem to be very enthusiastic. I believe it will take at least two troops to do the job well, sir. Considering the nature of the terrain, I believe it should be a daylight operation. I can only spare one troop. And a good Indian fighter can make the darkness work for him. You have my orders. Are there any more questions? No, sir. Troopa will be ready to ride at 10 o'clock. Just at dusk that night, Ace of Jones rode into Black Eagle's camp. The renegade chief walked forward to meet him. Howdy. Why, you come here. Black Eagle not want more rifle. Him not pay more gold. Oh, that isn't the reason why I've come. I brought you some good news. The major's going to send a troop of cavalry into the hills. Tell him, promise him, not do that. Sure, sure. But we're warning you in advance, aren't we? And there'll only be 60 men. The major thought it'd be a good chance for you to fix up an ambush. Him want Black Eagle kill soldiers? He's getting rid of all the troublemakers of the fort. Just think, all their horses and rifles and ammunition will belong to you. You won't have to pay a cent for them. Naturally, you wouldn't let them find you here. You can pick your own spot. That's good. Black Eagle no place. Sure you do. When soldier leave for him. In about three hours. Them find Indian. Maybe 10, 20. Lead soldier to trap. No soldier leave hill, live. That's it, Ziggy. A lone ranger in Tonto had seen Asa Jones right out of the fort and had followed him. Now they had left their horses behind and had crawled close enough to the camp to see the faces of Black Eagle and the storekeeper as they talked. One more piece of evidence that their rifles came from Fort Granny, Tonto. Ah, Jones, palasalam. Yes, and the gold Jones and the major have been sending back east. Must have come from Black Eagle. Him steal gold from Thunder Cloud. Tonto know that. Him steal gold from him, lead tribe. We can tell our friend the whole story when he gets here. When that? Should be tomorrow morning. Kim Sabi, watch. Black Eagle give order now to other braves. Yes, they're going for their horses. We better stay here and find out what they're up to. You promised, young fella. Meet him near Fort. You'll have to wait, Tonto. Black Eagle's going to make a raid. You'll have to find out in which direction he's heading and right on to one of the settlements. Tonto, that was Silver. Not right. Something's wrong. Come on. Instantly the two men were on their feet and running through the woods to the spot where they had left Silver and Scout. In a moment they could see what was happening. Two Indians mounted on Mustangs were trying to grasp Silver's bridle. But the great white stallion, refusing to run away from the place after it left him, was keeping them in a distance, rearing and lashing out at them with his forefeet. You shoot now? Not to kill, Tonto. We'll drive them off. Them right way. Yes, Tonto. They've gone. They'll have the whole camp after us in a minute. That's right. Good work, big fella. Easy now. 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. To continue our story. Fort Gurney with Captain Peter Dawson in command. Lieutenant Haynes, Murphy and another trooper, rode ahead as the point. They stopped at the woods, but there was no sign of the Lone Ranger and Tonto. So when the main column caught up with them, they continued on toward the hills. It was two hours later when the trail had started to climb and the ground had become more and more broken on either side of it, that the Lieutenant came racing back from the point. Ho, ho, ho. Easy now, boy. What's up? You'll see at the top of this next rise, you're coming to the camp at the opening of a canyon. Indians. You sure? You all can see them by their fires. A lot of dozen. Just wait a second. There. Practically camping in the open. That doesn't seem right. They're Indians, aren't they? They can't be black eagles men. There's no harm in finding out, is there? No, but here comes a sergeant back. Ho, ho! Ho, ho, ho. Look where the moon's hitting that hill in our right. That hill hits more like a cliff. You see what I mean? There's two horses sliding down the slope. They're near the bottom now. I see them. Hey, they're coming straight toward us. Sergeant isn't one of them white. I think so. Either white or gray. White. Almost like silver in this light. But who are the men riding them? A white in a paint. It must be the mass man in the Indian. Really? You're right, sir. Look at those horses traveled. Oh, the whites are beauty. You're the best I ever saw. Ho, ho, ho. Ho, ho, ho. Howdy, mass man. This is Captain Dawson. Good evening, Captain. How do you do? I waited for you at the water. I'm sorry about that, Lieutenant. I don't know. I've been watching Black Eagle set a trap. Trap? We didn't know for whom it was meant until we saw your men, Captain. That camp over there is a bait. Are you going to try to capture those engines? We're going to have a look at them. They've ridden into the canyon. Half a mile farther on, it opens out into a basin. Sheer walls almost all the way around it. Black Eagle and the rest of his men are waiting there. Waiting for us? Waiting for massacres? How could he have known? Asa Jones told him you were coming. Asa Jones? Yes, we followed him here. We didn't know what the message was that he brought, but now it's perfectly clear. The dirty little traitor? You have another traitor at the Fort, Sergeant. Jones must have got his information from the man who gave you your orders, Captain. It looks that way. There was no good reason for starting out tonight. Except to get us all killed. Mister, if the only entrance to the basin is through that canyon, couldn't we put a strong guard on it and bottle Black Eagle up? No, there's one more entrance. Another canyon that way. Maybe you use that to get into the basin. You could, Captain. We worked out a plan that might make it possible to capture all of Black Eagle's men. I see that you only have one or two men. The Lone Ranger outlined his plan. And after a number of questions, the Captain agreed to it. He left 20 men with the Lone Ranger and Lieutenant Haynes. Then he rode off with Tonto and the rest of the troop toward the second canyon. The Lone Ranger and the Lieutenant waited for half an hour. How much longer? Any time now. Good. Men, we ride straight for that camp. The mask man says the Indians will ride into the canyon. We'll follow them in and onto the basin. Watch for my signal, then, and move fast when you get it. All right, come on. Get up! The little band of 20 men rode toward the camp. When they were a quarter of a mile away, the Indians heard them and leaped to their horses and disappeared into the canyon. The Lone Ranger and the soldiers followed. Take a look at these rocks around here at the opening. This is where you'll have to make your stand on the way back. Right. On they rode after the Indians, on and on. The canyon widened. They had nearly reached the basin. Now it opened before them. And Black Eagle and all his men charged. But the soldiers had no more than shown themselves. Then they wheeled their horses and started back to the canyon. The Lone Ranger kept silver at the rear of the column, between the soldiers and the Indians. His six guns spoke again and again, preventing the Indians from closing in on the column. Riding over this rough terrain, the Indians' rifles were close to useless, and the mask man gave the leaders no chance to take careful aim. The soldiers reached the east end of the canyon. Oh, son of a... Quickly they dismounted and took cover behind the great boulders. Fire at will, men! Don't let one of them get past! At that moment, Tonto, the captain and the rest of the troop were riding into the basin from the other canyon. There's nobody here. That's right. All the Indians go after mask man and the lieutenant. I can hear them. There, canyon. You follow me. Go, I demand help! The captain's men swung into the canyon after Tonto. The sounds of the battle grew steadily closer. And finally... You look ahead, captain. Indians, mask man and lieutenant, stop them at Mounted Canyon. You stop here and take cover. Move, move! Move, move! Take cover! Now the renegades were caught between two fires. There was no escape for them. No dislodging the soldiers from their positions. But the fight continued for 5, 10, 15 minutes. Then... Black Eagle. Him wants surrender. You're sure it isn't a trick? No. Indian throw down guns. Say sparring, men! The battle was over. And as the soldiers rounded up the Indians and collected their rifles, Black Eagle was brought before Captain Dawson, where he was standing with a lone ranger and Tonto. What you do with Black Eagle? You're all prisoners. We're going to take you to the fort and lock you up. No! Major, not let you keep Black Eagle prisoner. Me give plenty gold. You gave him the gold for your rifle? Me give gold for rifle. Me give more gold and not send soldier after Black Eagle. Is all the evidence you need, captain? I don't know what to do with it. How do you arrest your commanding officer? The question is, will you get the chance? I can see Jones up at the top of the canyon while the fighting was going on. Sure it was he. You must have known that with Black Eagle captured, it would be all over for him and the Major. They're not stopped. They'll be on their way to the border before you get back to the fort. Will you stop them? We'll try, captain. You'll do it. Let's go, Tonto. He's a big fella. He's a big fella. One cylinder! Get one stop! As soon as Acer Jones realized that Black Eagle would be captured, he spurred his horse back to the fort and reached the stockade just as dawn was breaking. Once inside the stockade, he rolled to the Major's quarters and dismounted. Ho! Ho! Major! Wake up! Who's there? Jones! Let me in! You better get dressed. It isn't like yet. There is much time. I'm getting out of here and you better do the same thing. You make some sense. What's happened? Dawson's troop has captured Black Eagle. All of his men. Don't argue. I saw the whole thing with my own eyes. I tell you the game's up and I'm getting out of here. Are you coming or not? Yes. I'll need a fresh horse. Get the best two in the stables. Saddle them and bring them here. That's right. What's that? The mask man. You're both covered. See, I saw him tonight, Major. He was fighting with Dawson. How did you get in here? I came over the wall at the rear of the fort. There's a lot of excitement around the gates. I think you're going to have some visitors. Does he mean that Dawson and the men are back? They couldn't be. Who are you? What do you want? Oh, nothing much. You may continue dressing, Major. But don't make a move for your gun. Who are you? I'm a friend of Lieutenant Haynes' uncle. What? That's Sergeant Thomas. You don't dare shoot mask man? Sergeant, call the guards. I have a minute. He said a general. What general? General Gurney, Major. The man for whom this fort was named. General Gurney. What's he doing here? He's always taken a great interest in the post. Now he's come all the way from Washington to inspect it personally. Your reports on conditions around here have been too optimistic, Major. Never once mentioned Blackie Gu. What does Washington know about him? Everything. See, Thunder Cloud has been demanding that the army capture his renegade son and return the gold he stole. Washington also knows that you and Jones have been sending large quantities of gold back east. But they can't pull it away from sea, Major. Let us get out of here, Mask Man. No, Jones. Too late. Surely, sir. What the... Wait, General. Don't go away. Good friend. I see that you're on the job. Yes, General. It's all right. Mask Man is a friend of mine. You may go, Sergeant. Yes, sir. This is Major Pollet, I presume. Yes, sir. And? A. The Jones, the post-storekeeper, sir. Why are you holding a gun on them? I wanted to make sure they'd be here to receive you. Were they planning on leaving? Yes, General. No, General. Don't believe him. Don't believe anything he says. On the contrary, Major Pollet, I should believe everything he says. Bosson will be here shortly, sir. He led troupe into the hills last night. They captured Black Eagle and all of his men. Excellent. He has all the evidence you need. Were there any casualties? Very few among the soldiers, sir. No one killed. Better and better. And my sister? That is... The Lieutenant Haynes take part in the action. Yes, sir. The Lieutenant has the makings of a fine soldier. In spite of the Major's reports concerning him? Yes, sir. Is Lieutenant Haynes your nephew, sir? He is. An excellent officer. One is always privileged to change one's mind. Now, General, unless I go over the wall again, I'll need a pair to get out of here. Well, since I'm taking command here temporarily, I should write it myself. Good enough. General, you say you're taking command? Does that mean... Am I? It does mean... And you are... Under arrest? Yes. Use your passion. Thank you, General. I don't know why I'll be campin' the woods near here if you want us. I undoubtedly will. Goodbye, my friend. Goodbye, sir. I don't understand, General. I'm an officer of the United States Army. We'll remedy that situation very shortly, Major. But I have a right to be heard and you won't listen. You take the word of a mask man and outlaw a renegade in preference to mine. That's enough, Major. You don't know what you're talking about. Years ago, I helped to bring law and order to the West. I fought well. I'd been a good soldier and I'm proud of it. Now I wear a general's stars. But before that man who just left here, I'm extremely humbled. He has for no reward. He has no thought for himself. Yet he's done a thousand times more for this country than I ever did. For most men, meeting him would be a great honor. For you, this is always true for criminals and traitors. Meeting him has been a great misfortune. You see, Major Pollard, that was the Lone Ranger. This is a product of the Lone Ranger Incorporated, created and produced by George W. Trendle, directed by Charles D. Ludingston and edited by George W. Trendle. The part of the Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer.