 The King of the Cowboys, Roy Rogers. Transcribed from out of the West and into your home, riding the range of mystery and adventures, blazing the trail of Western story and song, with Roy Rogers' writers, that teller of tall tales, Gabby Hayes, the Queen of the West, Dale Evans, and in person, the King of the Cowboys himself, Roy Rogers. Well, howdy, folks. This is Roy Rogers. Buckaroos, did you read in the papers how constable Jerry Stuler captured Ken Tilden's gang of outlaws upstate? Well, Jerry Stuler was born right here in Paradise Valley. He's on his way home for a visit, and we're set to give him a royal welcome. I'd sure like to see him go to work on the wrestlers that are bothering our cattle. Let's see, right about now, Jerry should be on the bus somewhere between Squaw Creek and Mineral City. I wish I'd known about this celebration, Bob. I'd have asked the folks to call it all. And no, sir Jerry, you're a hero. Yeah, but it looks as though I'm coming home to be fussed over. Honest, Bob, the only reason I have for getting back is to fix up the home ranch a little. With the reward money, eh? It'll mean an awful lot to me when I pull this $2,500 out of my pocket and say, Dad, suppose we... Hey, Jerry, I'll across the aisle. I wouldn't say too much about having money on you. Oh, that's all right, Bob. The bank at Pine Grove has a list of the serial numbers on the bill. Say, this bus is traveling pretty fast. For down the hill especially. Hang on! The brakes are gone! The bus's out of control! A accident. The bus. Jerry Stuller. Sheriff, is Jerry Stuller... He's hurt pretty bad, so are several others. Bob, I'm inclined to believe somebody left before help got here. Everybody was hurt, including yourself, at his pocket's pit. Jerry too? Jerry too. He was carrying that reward money. $2,500. Eh, wait, though. Maybe you can trace it. Jerry told me the bank at Pine Grove has a list of the serial numbers on the bill. Good, good. Bob, I'll wire the bank for that list. We'll have copies distributed to every place of business in the state. I'd rather get my hands on the man who robbed accident victims than any other outlaw in the world, who are making our lives miserable. Lists of the serial numbers are distributed quickly and quietly throughout the state. There's no publicity about it because publicity might frighten the thief. And every merchant, every clerk, every law officer wants the thief to try and pass the stolen money. They're waiting for him. For several days the money does not appear. Then early in the morning a customer is in Bob Benison's store. Dave Wyatt, a rancher of the state, is none too good. Eh, anything else I can get for you this morning, Mr. Wyatt? No, no, I don't believe so. And I'd better total this up. I wonder how long it'll be before our sheriff gets a rustling gang. Five pounds Axel Grease. Oh, he'll get him, Mr. Wyatt, don't you worry. Meanwhile, they're driving off our herd. Yeah, I know. Two pounds, ten penny nails. They took 80 head and Charlie Corson when last night. And this comes to 780, Mr. Wyatt. 780, huh? Let's see. Here's $20. I think I can change it. Bob walks toward the money drawer, looking at the serial numbers on the $20 bill Dave Wyatt has given him. He pulls out the drawer, checks the bill against the list of numbers on the stolen money. His eyes open wide. One set of numbers on the list checks exactly. One is Jerry Stoolers. It was stolen from Jerry's pocket at the bus wreck. Bob tries to hide his excitement. Uh, I seem to be out of change, Mr. Wyatt. I'll run across the hotel. Day 11 will give me some change. You just wait here. Bob leaves his store, runs to the hotel. He saw Roy Rogers and Gabby Hayes go inside a few minutes ago. Better to ask Roy for help than take time to go all the way down the street to the sheriff's office. Roy, here's one of the bills. Oh, howdy, Bob. One of what bills? Bob, yeah, pink brain lemon. When you start talking, you're supposed to sneak up on a subject, not bust into the middle of it. Now, Gabby. Dave, Wyatt, just give it to me. One of the bills that was stolen from Jerry Stooler and the bus accident. Dave? Well, Dave's been out of town for 10 days. Well, here's the bill. And Dave's still in my store waiting for change. I stall him. We'd better get over there, Pappy. Dave may be able to explain how he got this bill. And then we can really go to work. What I'm trying to say is it's none of your business where I got this money, but I'll tell you, I got it at the bank and cashed a check this morning. He's a party pine with purple feathers. You won't mind stepping over to the bank, will you, while we see if they can trace it down? Well, uh, well, no, I guess not. We'll go with you. Pappy, she bruh. Well, Roy, just a minute. I'll tell you the truth. I didn't get this 20 at the bank. I found it near where the bus crashed last night as I was coming home. You found the whole roll of bills, did you? Yes, yes, I did. At that time, I hadn't heard about the robbery. Where's the rest of the money, Dave? Home, in my safe. I had no idea whose it was. Let's go home and get it. I think the people who were hurt and had their pockets picked ought to have their money back as soon as possible, don't you? Just how much was it, Jerry Lost? $2,500. Oh, yes, yes, of course. I didn't count the money I found, you know. Just threw it here on top of my papers and money. Suspicious as a dog with chicken feathers on his whiskers. The other folks in that accident had their pockets picked too, Dave. They lost $155. The thief probably had the whole works in one place when he lost it. See now, $2,500 and $155 is how much. $5,500 and $9,000, carry one. Two and one's, uh, uh, oh, three. I always say do away with small numbers like one and two. They bother me. Here you are, Roy. This covers everything. Now, we're in the clear. Roy takes the money Dave way at Hanson. He and Gaby go outside. As they walk toward their horses, Roy thumbs through the bills, looking at the serial numbers. Five and five is nine. Five and zero is zero. Gaby, this money doesn't check. Just second, Roy, I'm adding up to see how much folks lost altogether. Roll trigger. Get on your horse. Sure thing. Zero and zero is... Only $200 of the money Dave handed us was stolen. The rest wasn't. What do you mean? Dave may be watching. Keep moving along. I doubt that he found this money at all. Well, he must have did something or he wouldn't have given it up. That's right. And the $200 of stolen money is too much to have without knowing where it came from. He got it either by selling something or working somewhere. Six-toed hypotenuse. Now he's trying to protect whoever gave it to him. Even to the point of making himself look suspicious. Roy, I'll bet you Dave got this $200 by doing something illegal. You hit the nail right on the head, Pappy. It's my radar brain. Pappy, once we get over this rise, they won't be able to see us from the house. I want you to hightail it into town and give the money to the sheriff. Good. On the way, I'll have a chance to figure the total. I'll wait here and see what happens. Dave's probably scared and mad. He'll ride out to find the man who gave the stolen money to him, and that's the man I want to see. Eat of the afternoon sun bears down upon Roy and Trigger as they wait in their place of concealment. Not once during the afternoon does Wyatt leave his house. That in itself is strange, for a rancher seldom stays indoors. Then as darkness falls, Roy sees Wyatt slip through the back door and walk rapidly toward the corral. At the same time, he hears horses approaching from the direction of town. Gabby has returned bringing Dale with him. You all right, Roy? Keep your horses quiet. We hadn't heard from you, so we thought we'd better come out. Dave Wyatt's got some alhoot riders working for him. I haven't seen any of him so far, but I'm glad you came. Dave's getting ready to pull out. Even as Roy speaks, a lone figure rides through the blindness. Dave Wyatt. He's leaving his home after dark, riding away from town. His horse, traveling fast, passes within a few feet of where Roy, Dale, and Gabby are standing. Let him get ahead, then we'll follow. Ride off to the side of the trail where the ground's soft. We don't want Wyatt to know he's being followed. Unconscious passengers were robbed. All Paradise Valley waited for the stolen money to appear. Roy discovered Dave Wyatt had $200 of it in his possession. And Roy, Dale, and Gabby have trailed Wyatt through the night. For several miles, he's ridden toward the border. Now, he has stopped near what appears to be a deserted cabin. Pull up, Dale and Gabby. Oh, good girl. We'll keep out of sight until we see what Dave is going to do with that cabin. Five and five, right. Looks to me like he's scared and is trying to run out. I hope not. I've got my heart set on finding a man who gave him the stolen money. Hero and hero is, well, call it one. If somebody did pass the stolen money to him and he didn't steal it himself. He couldn't have stolen it, Dale. He's been out of town. Hey, somebody's in that cabin. Look, Dave's knocking at the door. He sure is. Let's move up a little. If they light a lamp, we can watch what goes on through the window. Huge boulders docked the area around the cabin. Roy, Dale and Gabby move in behind one of the largest of these, directly opposite the cabin's window. As they watch, someone inside the cabin lights a lantern and opens the door. They're too far away to hear, but they see this man welcome Dave Wyatt. Wyatt pushes past him into the cabin. An argument seems to be taking place. Wyatt can be seen shouting, waving his fists. The other man shakes his head as though denying some charge as Wyatt is making. Suddenly, Wyatt becomes enraged. His hand flashes to his holster, bringing up a gun. He hits the second man on the head, hard. The man falls. Wyatt hesitates and bends down, reaches into the man's pocket and takes a money wallet. He counts out a sum of money, places it in his own pocket, then walks out of the cabin. He's the one who gave Dave the stolen money. Dave's replaced it now. Sure must be more to this than we thought. Are we going to let Dave get away, Roy? We can pick him up anytime, Dale. But the man inside the cabin interests me more right now. Let's find out about him. Chuck, this told it out like a light. I never will get time to figure out how much 2,500 and 155 make. He's not hurt, just knocked out. Do you know him, Roy? I've seen him hanging around town the past couple of months. They call him Chris. Gabby, let's throw him across the trigger and head back to Dave Wyatt's place. Dave Wyatt's place? Roy, be careful. What those alhoot riders Dave has will do anything. Something's been going on here, Dale, and I aim to find out what it is. Roy, this fella must be hurt worse than we thought. Well, he's been unconscious all the way here. Five, five, eleven. Yeah, we probably better send for a doctor. Wrap on the door, will you? Sure. Get Dave out here. Eleven, that means carry one. I thought like you did, but he was just unconscious. We may have to change our plans. Two and one is all of them dog-eared small numbers again. Gabby, what are you doing? I'm acting up to see how much money Dave Wyatt's given us to see before. Well, you'd better get your mind on what's happening here. There's have to be plenty of trouble. My mind is on what's happening here. Every time this porcupine started to come to, ain't I jarred his chin and put him to sleep again? Dave's coming to the door. Roger. Sorry to bother you, Dave, but we found the man who'd been hurt. Well, I'm trying to get some rest. Well, your place was nearer than anyone else's. What do we do, Roy? Lay him on the bunk? Yeah. Dave, come on over here. I want you to see if you know this man. How would I know him? I'm not acquainted with all the riffraff and paradise valley. Take a look at him, Dave. Dave glances across the room at the unconscious man. An expression of fright crosses his face. Come over close so you can be sure. I don't even know the man. Dave is backing away from the bunk and from Roy toward the other side of the room. You don't know him, but you went to his cabin tonight, argued with him and hit him over the head with your gun. Dave has reached the door that leads to another room. He flings it open. Hey, come on out. I need help. Get your gun, Roy. Watch it, Roy. Hard, bitten, ugly-faced outlaws come to the doorway toward Roy. Dave, Wyatt's hired gunman. I didn't want to do this, Rogers. I tried not to, but you asked for it. They all hoots use their guns. Roy throws himself back out of the way. Dave and Gabby drop to the floor. Now in a split second after the first volley, Roy levels his own gun. A pistol drops from the hand of the nearest outlaw. Another shot from Roy's gun. Another outlaw hand is empty. While the gunmen are still frozen in their places, Roy acts. Come on, Gabby. We can do this without guns. He lunges. A man goes down. Now Gabby's fist finds its mark. Dave stops the man trying to go past her with a chair. Only three are left. Two gang up on Roy. He leaps to a table. He comes crashing down on them. They fall. Mourning. Fighting. They're through. Finished. Roy gets to his feet. Good work, Dave and Gabby. The man on the bunk. The man you said was called Chris. Where is he, Roy? He got away, Rogers. Chris stole one of the horses and it's gone. I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. But who is he, Dave? It's time you were talking. He's the man you want, Rogers. He's the one who stole the money after that bus accident. I sold him some cattle and he paid me with the stolen money. Who's cattle did you sell, Dave? Where'd you come from? I came to get you, Roy. I stuck around because I enjoy watching a good fight. All right, Dave, who's cattle did you sell to Robert Griffith? My own, my own. Your neighbor's not your own and don't tell me different. We've got your rustling gang cornered in the blind canyon. We bagged one of them and he confessed. You're the leader. You get back. I'm getting out of here. No, you're not. You're staying. What about Griffith, Sheriff? More than likely we'll find him with the rustlers we've got cornered. Dave Wyatt heads up the gang and Griffith buys up the cattle they steal. Let's get going then. There's nothing I like better than hunting rustlers. Dozen rustlers, tough, grim and battle-scarred, ride slowly out of the canyon. Their hands above their heads, their holsters empty. Their game is over. The only thing ahead is prison. They approach the posse. One biter suddenly puts spurs to his horse and tries to break through the line. There goes good real, Sheriff. What's the others? I'll get him. Come on, Trigger. Trigger wheels, breaks into a gallop and is after the outlaw's horse while Roy reaches for his rope. The outlaw's lead grows less, with Trigger taking great strides against it. Gaining, gaining, gaining. The rope is burning above Roy's head now. The two horses are almost opposite each other. Roy throws his rope. It settles about grip shoulders. The last of the outlaw gang is taken. They're herded toward Minerval City and Chale. As they file into the building, Bob Benison is watching. Roy, that one fellow, he said opposite Jerry Stooler and me on the bus the day of the accident. I warned Jerry he was watching us when Jerry was talking about his money. He's the man who robbed the passengers after the accident, Bob. If it hadn't been for that, we might not have had this rustling gang quite so soon. Once the outlaws are in jail, Roy and Gabby ride down Main Street with Dale toward her hotel. One million seven hundred and eighty-five. What, Gabby? Just think, Dale. Roy and me was carrying one million seven hundred and eighty-five dollars yesterday afternoon. Where was I when this happened, Gabby? Well, it was me. Don't you remember? Dave White gave us... Dave White gave us twenty-five hundred dollars. Plus a hundred fifty-five more. And if twenty-five hundred and a hundred fifty-five don't make one million seven hundred and eighty-five dollars, then I sure wasted my time adding all day. Shall I tell him, Roy? Or will you? Let's neither of us this time, Dale. But the next time he goes to do any arithmetic in his head, just slip him a pencil and a piece of paper and have a first grader show him what to do. You're a tired little cowboy. You've been on the trail all day. Can't you hear that Sandman calling? Time to put your toys away. Now your sleepy head is nodding and your eyes are closing too. Time you headed for the bunkhouse. Little man, your chores are clean. It's round up time. Come along, your battle and your old trusty cap gun. Come along. Right in the head. Multiply, digit. Why I even square-rooted that trigonometry right in the head once. When a man does a thing like that, you can't offer him a pencil and paper to do a simple Latin problem. Now, can you? Find someone to pet a senorita, a sweet perpeta. Forget if he's insistent and she's not distant. When your retard will, soon there'll be a fiesta with a blushing bride and the gay ranchero standing by her side. If they find the promise that they have in store, they'll be counting little chico's by the store. This is Roy Rogers saying to all of you, from all of us, goodbye, good luck and may the good Lord take a liking to you. See you next week. This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service, The Voice of Information and Education.