 The horse with the speed of light, the 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 hootbeats of the great horse Silver, the lone ranger rides again. The faint flush of early dawn colored the eastern horizon and twinkling beams of light found their way through the fluttering leaves of the cottonwoods to move in a restless pattern over the slumbering forms of the lone ranger, his Indian companion Tonto and the lone ranger's 14-year-old nephew Dan Reed. It was only at long intervals that young Dan was permitted to travel with the masked man in the Indian and boylike he slept contentedly and soundly under the open sky. Suddenly the lone ranger awoke with a start as distant harsh sounds intermingled with the chirping of the birds. Tonto, be here, keep subbing. What's the matter? Sounds like Indians attacking not far from here. Good. There's Silver scouts. We'll saddle up Tonto. Maybe we can help. Steady Silver. Dan, you stay here and camp until we come back. And camp well hidden, Dan. You'll be safe here. Oh, why can't I go too? You don't know what we're riding into, Dan. Steady big fella. But don't leave camp until we return. I won't. And we not be too long, Dan. Let's go, Tonto. Come on, Silver. Come on, Scout. We're not here anything now, Kimus Abbey. I'm sure we're going in the right direction, Tonto. Look, Kimus Abbey. I'll fail to ride. Smoke. One boy faster. Give it up, Scout. In a few minutes, the lone ranger and Tonto reigned up before a scene of complete devastation. Oh, Silver, what's going on? Stay. The cabin's in smoldering ruins. Look there, Kimus Abbey. Find the cabin. The bodies of two men. Steady Silver. Maybe one of them's still alive. Come on, Tonto. They didn't have a chance. Them dead? Both of them. Tonto, these Indian arrows. Uh, them Comanches who kill them. This is serious, Tonto. The Comanches are starting a general uprising. Now it means war. Kimus Abbey. Someone's near. Listen. I'm over there in bushes. Might be a trick. Be ready with your gun. We'll investigate. Come on. Tonto, it's a little Indian boy. He's hurt. You're not killed. You're not killed. We won't hurt your boy. Look, his arm is beating, Tonto. You'd better fix it. Mayday, Lola Tima. Little Bear. You can say him name Little Bear. Me fix, huh? It's not much hurt, Kimus Abbey. Here, use this neck-a-chief. He spoke a few English words the moment ago, Tonto. Me no word. Great Comanche Chief Red Eagle. Father of Little Bear. And tell Little Bear words of white man. Oh, me not hurt much, Little Bear. Oh, yeah, that better. Little Bear is very young to travel with Comanche Braves on warpaths. Comanche Braves go to hunt. Little Bear follow on pony. White men in cabin C brave on trail. Do I kill? Comanche Braves make war cry. Kill white men. So the men in the cabin provoke this raid, Tonto, by firing upon a hunting party. It may be the cause of a general uprising at the Comanches. Ah. What we do with Little Bear, Kimus Abbey? The pony is gone. We'll take him to his village. Oh, no. It's not good. Go near Comanche Village now. Go only close enough for Little Bear to join the tribe on foot. Come, Little Bear. We'll take you to your father's village. Little Bear can easily go to Red Eagle's village from here. Yeah, I'll lift you down. There you are. Little Bear, like white man with black cover on his face. Like great white horse, like Tonto. We like you too, Little Bear. One day you'll grow up to be a friend to all white men. Other white men kill Comanche. Wardome say Comanche go soon. Kill other white men. Little Bear, go now. Join chief, my father. Olate. Olate. That incident at the cabin has really started something, Tonto. Ah. Little Bear, right. Enchie's beat Wardome. Does that have to do something? Ah, what we do? You stay here. Watch developments. I'll go back to our camp and send Dan with a message to Fort Lancaster. I'll find out all you can and come to the camp. You'll go warn the ranchers in the valley beyond Eagle Pass. We do it. Good. I'll meet you in camp. Be careful and adios. Adios, Kimus Abbey. Come on, Silver. Oh, hello, Silver. Whoa, silly big fella. Easy. What happened? Silly big fella. Indians, Dan, Comanches. They burned down a cabin and killed two white men who had fired on their hunting party. What? The men should have known better than to do that. They probably saw the Comanches riding near and became panicky. Their foolish mistake may be the cause of a great deal more killing. What do you mean? Dan, the Comanches are easily aroused. We were close to their village. They've already started beating the war drums. They'll wipe out every rancher in his family in the valley beyond Eagle Pass unless something can be done to stop them. What can be done? You'll may hope us to get the cavalry from Fort Lancaster, which is 20 miles up the Pecos River Trail. I... I hate to have you take the risk, Dan, but... Golly! You mean you want me to go to the Fort? Yes, Dan. Do you think you can? Oh, sure. I'll find the way all right. Victor will get me there in no time. The trail follows the river all the way, so you can't miss it. Here, show the commandant of the Fort the Silver Bullet. Got him to bring all the troops he has to Eagle Pass. Yes, sir. I'll get started right away. Be careful, Dan, and hurry as fast as you can. The lives of all the ranchers may depend on your success. Mounted on his horse, Victor, Dan left the Lone Ranger's camp and headed for the river trail. He felt a thrill of pride that the Lone Ranger had trusted him with such an important mission. No thought of danger entered his mind, and he was determined to make every minute count. He continually urged his racing horse to even greater speed. Come on, Victor! Faster, boy! Faster! The brave horse responded gallantly and carried his light burden swiftly along the trail toward Fort Lancaster. Suddenly, Dan's great desire for speed in the direction of the Fort died within him, as he saw a group of moving horsemen coming from a side trail ahead of him. He pulled Victor to a quick halt. Oh, oh, Victor! Oh, my, oh, oh! Oh, golly Indians! If they're commandant, she's gone! They see us, Victor. Turn around quick! Get up, Victor! It was some time later when Tonto returned to camp after having watched the activity in the village of the Comanches. Hold, scum! Hold, fire! Hold! Hold, fire! Hurry, Kimusabi! Hurry! What did you find out, Tonto? It looked plenty bad for ranchers. Comanches put on war paint, like many signal fire. That means Red Eagle is out to start something on a large scale. Ha! Comanche chiefs, plenty angry, hold big council of war. Me get close. Your chief, Red Eagle, give heat big talk. Treaty of peace. Comanche smoke peace pipe, not break treaty. White man killed Comanche brave who hunts. White man break treaty! Signal fires bring many more Comanche to village of Red Eagle. Soon, many Comanche braves seek out ranchers in valley. Soon, white ranchers not be in valley no more. Soon, Comanche hunting valley in peace. Hold up! Hold up! Comanche's go to valley. Kill, burn, and white man not come back to valley. Many Comanche have gathered. And Comanche braves move against white man. Red Eagle has spoken. Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Hold up! Red Eagle's village, the large band of braves. Red Eagle could very easily wipe out everyone in the valley. Dan's gone to Fort Lancaster for troops. Dan go to Fort Lone? Yes, I hated to send him. We'll be needed here. Ranchers need plenty help against Comanche. I know. Here's silver. Steady boy. The Rads Regal passed the valley and warned the ranchers. I have a plan that may keep the Comanches back until the troops arrive from Fort Lancaster. We can do that. North come. Sound like Victor. Victor? But by now, Dan must be almost to the fourth. Look, Kimusabi. Victor come with empty sandals. Steady silver. Old Victor, hold steady. Quiet, Victor. Paddle, I... Paddle. Look here. What you find? An arrow. Comanche arrow. Stuck in the candle of the saddle. Oh. Comanche come at Dan from behind. Yes. Steady big fella. Easy silver. We'll follow the trail Dan took. Thunowai, I don't know what to think. If not, look good, Kimusabi. But maybe Dan not get hurt. I hope not. Move silver. Get him out of town. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Here, here where Dan turned Victor back on trail. Dan had fallen off. We would have found him before this, Thunowai. We pull the trail back out. All right. Oh boy. Come Scout, come fella, come. Keep a sharp look out, Thunowai. Both sides of the trail. He might have rolled off into the bushes. I shouldn't have sent him to the fort. We find him and he's... Well, he was hurt. Wait Kimusabi. Push over, push over. Come Scout, pull fella. Here, horses stop. Yes. Victor's footprints go to... Back along trail. Other horses turn off to side. Maybe go to the village, Red Eagle. Thunowai, do you think they've taken Dan prisoner? Ah, we go to the village and try to get Dan. Thunowai, well, if we do that, we won't have time to warn the ranchers or to get the troops. No, no, that's right. But Dan, here... Comanche, not good, the prisoners. So I realize that. Now what we do, Kimusabi? Thunowai, if we don't warn the ranchers and get the troopers, there'll be a massacre in the valley. We don't do what we can to save Dan now. It may be too late in the short time. This is the hardest decision I've ever had to make. 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. How to continue our story? Thunowai sat stoically watching and waiting as the Lone Ranger, torn between his affection for his young nephew Dan Reed and his duty to the ranchers, paused a moment before making his decision. Then the masked man spoke quietly. Thunowai, Julius Plain. All right, the warn the ranchers and help with the plans against the Indians. We go to Fort Lancaster for the troopers. Ah, we leave for Fort now. All right, then hurry, Thunowai. Hurry. Me hurry. Adios, Kimusabi. Adios, Kimusabi. Get him up, scoundrel! Those devils touched one hair of your head, Dan. Oh, come on, Silver! Having come to a decision, the masked rider of the Plains exerted all his efforts toward accomplishing what he had decided to do. Racing against time, he rode his fleet put at White Stallion through Eagle Pass, a long, high-walled canyon forming the only entrance to the valley beyond. Once in the valley, the Lone Ranger went from ranch to ranch, giving to each the same message. Oh, ho, sir, sir, sir. It's very big for us. Now gather your men together and have them drive your cattle to the valley end of Eagle Pass. The commandeers are on the war path. It's a matter of life and death. One silver! Finally, the last and largest ranch was reached. And the Lone Ranger drew rain. Oh, ho, sir, sir, hold on! Look at that stallion! And the big ombre! Hey, he's my ass! Somebody get Bill Morris! All right, here comes Bill now. Hey, who's in Tarnation, are you? What's the idea of riding into my ranch yard like he was being chased by the devil? Who are you? I'm Bill Morris, owner of this spread known as the Bahram. Now, wait, see here. I'm the one who asked for your name. You got me telling you mine. Names don't matter right now, Morris. I came to warn you that the commandeers are uprising. And they plan to hit the ranchers in this valley first. Now, hold on, hold on, stranger. How do we know you speak the truth about them commandeers? You don't know right now. But if you want to take a chance and wait for proof, go ahead. Well, blame the fine inclined to think you are telling the truth. Believe it or not, that's up to you, Morris. Look here, stranger. It's the right worrisome bit of news you brought. If those commandeers are coming here on the war path, we ain't got much of a chance. Now, listen to me, all of you. All the other ranchers in this valley are meeting at Eagle Pass. And they're driving what cattle they can round up to the same place. Uh, what are the cattle for? I've sent someone to Fort Lancaster for the troopers. We can hold off the commandeers long enough to let the troopers get there. You and your ranchers will be saved. Yeah, that's right. But how? The whole plan will be explained to everyone after you reach the pass. I don't delay, men. Start there at once. But every available man in steer. I'll be waiting there to tell you our plan. Hurry. Come on, boy. Later, at the valley entrance to Eagle Pass, the Lone Ranger watched as more and more ranchers arrived driving cattle before them. Eagle Pass was a narrow, canyon-like passage, about an eighth of a mile long, running through a cliff-blind mountain range just east of the Pecos River. When the ranchers had gathered at the appointed place, the Lone Ranger rode to a vantage point to tell them his plan. Men! Men! You've all come here for one purpose. To hold back the commandeers until the troopers arrive. That way, save your families and your homes. Well, the time is short. Lookouts have been posted high on the side of the canyon walls to signal us when the Indians approach the entrance to the pass. And we are greatly outnumbered. So our one hope is to keep them from coming through until help arrives. That's why I asked for cattle. Now, quiet, quiet, everybody. Listen to the mask man's plan. Some of you will lose your cattle. That's better than losing your homes or your lives. The plan is simple. When the commandeers are sighted, the lookout will fire two shots as a signal. When you hear that signal, drive the cattle into the pass. Then, when the Indians start into the pass on the other side, a single shot will be fired. That's your signal to start shooting into the air behind the cattle. So they'll stampede to the pass for the commandeers. The stampeding cattle will route the Indians. They won't have a chance to band together again before the troopers get here. Now remember, don't start the stampede until the signal shot is fired. All right, everybody. Let's start moving the cattle toward the pass. If we don't hold those redskins off, we're all done for. So do just what the stranger said. Now let's get busy. When everything was in readiness, the lone ranger with Bill Morris rode partway into Eagle Pass to a cleft in one of the side walls, big enough to shield their horses and themselves. From this point, they could watch the effect of their plan or it would be put into action. Stranger with those redskins not knowing we're ready for them, they're going to get a mighty big surprise when they meet up with those stampede and cattle. That's a general idea, Bill. Valley ranchers sure appreciate all you're doing. Yes, we'll all do more appreciating when we realize what it would mean to lose one of our loved ones. Yes, I know how much such a loss can mean to a person. The first signal, the Indians have been sighted. I hope those ranchers do things right. I hear them driving the cattle into the entrance to the pass now. Good thing this big crack is here in the wall or we'd be swept along when those cattle are stampeded. Very silver, the slight bend in the canyon prevents us from seeing the other end. Yeah, but it keeps the Indians from seeing those cattle too. That's right, I invented the pass. That's a second signal. Boys have started the cattle. They'll be stampeding in a minute. Where they come, they're stampeding now. Those savages think that the ranchers are coming at them. So they're ready to fight. I jump on G. Horsifat. Look, two kids running straight into those cattle. Then a little bear. What's that? They'll be questioning the stampede. Instinctively, the Lone Ranger urged the great hearted silver forward without stopping to reason why. The one thought in the mind of the masked man was that somehow Dan was alive. Alive, but now in danger of a worse death than he would have with the hands of the Comanches. Besides Dan, on a short-legged Indian pony, rode Little Bear. The Lone Ranger cried a warning to them. Dan, Little Bear! Boys heard. They wheeled and started back. Quickly, Silver's magnificent stride closed the gap between them and the Lone Ranger. Little Bear's pony stumbled and fell. Keep going, Dan. Let's fall on the walls to the left. Keep going. Easy, Silver. Is that it, boy? As the fast, galloping Silver approached the small, steel body of Little Bear, the Ranger leaned forward into the side, then grasping the pommel of a saddle of one hand, he made a sudden downward movement. I've got you! Sweeping the form of Little Bear into his free arm and lifting the board of the saddle. Now run, Silver! Run! With even more effort and speed, the big stallion leaped forward, heading toward the hole in the left wall where Dan had gone. Just a little further, Silver. Just a little further. Pull! Pull, boy! Pull! Pull! Stand it out! Ben, you all right? Yes, sir. Is Little Bear... He'll be all right. The troopers have come! Yes. The ranchers are safe now. Come on, we'll go meet Tutto. Return Little Bear to his people. Man, she's not bother ranchers now, Captain Bradley. Well, I don't know whether we take credit for that or not, Tonto. I never saw anything like the way those Indians raced out of that pass before that stampede and herd. I guess some of them are still going. That's right, Lieutenant. Pull! Pull! Pull! Pull! Howdy, Captain. My name's Bill Morris, owner spread over in the valley. Glad to meet you, Mr. Morris. I'm telling you, I just witnessed the greatest thing I've ever seen in my life. A masked stranger who came to help us saved two boys from the stampede. In fact, he grabbed a little Indian boy, almost one of the cattle's hooves. You saved two boys? Yep. The other one was a white lad riding a fine white horse. Oh, then range a fine, Dan. The boy you told us about? Hey, look, there comes a masked man now. Oh, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Hi, Kimmasari. Hi, Dan. Hi, hello, Captain. Hello, Tonto. Golly, it's good to see you. How do you get here, Dan? A band of Comanches took me prisoners. They kept me tied up in a wigwam. Little Bear came to visit me, and he was playing with a silver bullet. Oh, oh, oh. Let me see him take bullet from gun belt this morning, Kimmasari. Yes, sir, no, Tonto. I told him I had a silver bullet, too. He found it in my pocket, and I told him I was your friend. Little Bear untied me, and we sneaked away. Went to our camp where I got Victor. Then we walked toward you, warned you that the Comanches were coming. I'm glad you're back from safe, Dan. Him friend of Little Bear. Man with black cover on face, friend of Little Bear. We tell Chief Red Eagle, my father, not herd friend, not herd white man. That's a fine spirit to grow up with, Little Bear. Younger comes a small group of Comanches carrying a piece of white cloth. Chief, my father come. I'll put you down now, Little Bear. Come on, Little Bear. Come on, Little Bear. He's Chief Red Eagle. How, Chief Red Eagle? Uh, Red Eagle, see how mask men who ride flying horse catch Little Bear. Save life. Never will Comanches attack white men in valley. Comanches smoke pipe of geese like Little Bear say. Red Eagle has spoken. Captain, looks like you can take your troopers back to Fort Lancaster. That mask man sure seemed to have gotten everything under control by himself. Why, he's gone. Went to heaven, we had more like him in the west, Mr. Morris. You talk like you know who he is. I do. He's known as the lone ranger. Little Bear, always be friend to lone ranger. What you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the lone ranger incorporated.