Tonto: Tales of the Lone Ranger

Originally Aired: April 6, 1938
The Lone Ranger #810, "Red Part 1," the Lone Ranger and Tonto arrive at the town of Fargo only to be confronted by armed deputies Kurt and Jim, who suspect the masked man might be a mysterious outlaw known as "The Red." This enigmatic thief has been robbing from the wealthy and helping the desperate, most notably stealing five hundred dollars from banker Sims to secretly pay off the mortgage of an elderly, bedridden rancher named Jones and his wife. When the deputies demand that the Lone Ranger remove his mask, tensions escalate into a shootout. The masked rider and Tonto escape into the nearby woods, but Tonto is wounded by a rifle shot.
As the Lone Ranger tends to his injured companion, the deputies track them down and capture the unconscious Tonto while the masked man is away fetching water. Meanwhile, at the home of elderly Elijah Longworth, Deputy Forsyth announces his capture and reveals a plan to use Tonto as bait to trap both the mysterious Red and his suspected partner, the Lone Ranger. Forsyth remains convinced the two strangers are connected to the Robin Hood-like outlaw, setting up a dangerous predicament for our heroes.

Originally Aired: March 30, 1938
The Lone Ranger #807, "Night Stage To Dalton," presents a treacherous plot against a new stagecoach line's inaugural run. When the night stage departs Paso Doble carrying gold and passengers, including Betty Stevens, danger lurks ahead. The driver is Buck, a reformed man whom the Lone Ranger previously helped, now given a second chance at an honest life. Unknown to Buck, his guard Butch Larson is part of Black Mike's outlaw gang, and they've devised a cunning scheme. The criminals alter a signpost to redirect the stage toward Salter's Creek, where quicksand lies beneath the water.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto, riding toward Dalton, discover the tampered signpost and rush to investigate. They arrive to witness the outlaws pushing the stage into the quicksand-filled creek, planning to make it appear that the gold sank with the coach while they escape with their plunder. With Buck's life hanging in the balance and the outlaws' plot nearly complete, the masked man must act swiftly to save his friend and bring the criminals to justice.

Originally Aired: March 28, 1938
The Lone Ranger #806, "Faked Bank Robbery," opens with the despised moneylender Jed Kramer working late in his bank when a masked thief holds him up at gunpoint and steals ten thousand dollars. The robber reveals he's one of the many men Kramer has swindled through predatory lending practices, but his identity remains a mystery. When the alarm is raised, a townsman named Abe Turner claims to have seen someone running toward the livery stable carrying a box. The Lone Ranger and Tonto, suspecting Abe himself may be the culprit, secretly follow him home.
Their suspicions prove correct when they watch Abe return with the stolen cash box. However, the situation becomes more complicated when they discover Abe's wife and sick baby living in desperate poverty. Confronting Abe inside his home, the Lone Ranger learns that the desperate father stole the money to save his starving family from Kramer's cruel lending practices. When the masked man insists the money must be returned, the desperate Abe refuses to give up what he sees as rightfully his, setting up a tense confrontation between justice and desperation.

Originally Aired: March 25, 1938
The Lone Ranger #805, "Revenge For Mendoza," a mysterious band of hooded outlaws on swift black horses terrorizes Greenville, Texas, robbing elderly citizens of their life savings. After the raiders strike the home of Hank and Maggie Crumpart, the Lone Ranger arrives to investigate and discovers a chilling pattern: every victim served on the jury that condemned a half-breed named Manuel Mendoza to hang for murder. The outlaws never kill their victims, maintaining a strict code against bloodshed, but when word spreads that a man named Zeke Lucas has been shot dead during the latest raid, tensions escalate.
The Lone Ranger pursues the raiders into the hills near the Rio Grande, while back at their remote rancho headquarters, the gang's leader removes her hood to reveal herself as Senorita Mendoza, daughter of the hanged man. When she learns that one of her men, Pedro, violated her strict orders and killed someone, she demands he face consequences for breaking her sworn pledge. Now the Lone Ranger and Tonto must stop this vendetta before the remaining six jurors become targets of revenge.

Originally Aired: March 23, 1938
The Lone Ranger #804, "Coming Of Age," the Lone Ranger and Tonto come upon a burning house near Osage and attempt to help, only to be met by rifle-wielding Zeke Saunders, who claims to be the owner and insists he wants the house to burn. When Zeke threatens to shoot, the masked rider and Tonto subdue and rope him while they investigate the suspicious fire. Meanwhile, in town, Zeke's ward Nancy Randall visits with Dick Stevens and his mother, unaware of the destruction at home. As Nancy approaches her coming of age—when she'll inherit her father's money that Zeke has managed for years—Dick questions whether Zeke will be able to account for it all.
When Nancy, Dick, and the sheriff arrive at the fire, they find Zeke tied up. He claims two robbers—a masked man on a white horse and an Indian companion—attacked him and burned the house. The sheriff organizes a posse to hunt down the supposed criminals, not realizing he's now searching for the Lone Ranger and Tonto. As the mystery deepens, the masked rider investigates Zeke's strange behavior, suspecting something far more sinister than a simple house fire.

Originally Aired: March 21, 1938
The Lone Ranger #803, "Pitfall Trap," finds the masked rider and Tonto investigating a ruthless protection racket in the Southwest. Jim Burton has made himself absolute master of the territory, forcing ranchers and townspeople to pay him tribute or suffer devastating consequences. When rancher Tyler refuses to pay, Burton callously shoots his prized bull as a warning. Those who defy Burton face poisoned cattle, burned homes, and even murder at the hands of his gang of outlaws and hired gunmen. The law remains helpless against Burton's iron grip on the region.
After answering what he believes is a distress signal, the Lone Ranger learns the full extent of Burton's reign of terror from Tyler and the widow Simmons. The masked rider discovers that many of Burton's gang members are wanted criminals from other territories, which gives him an idea to break the outlaw's power. Making a bold move, the Lone Ranger storms into a cafe where Burton and his men are gathered, taking wanted murderer Scar Lewis at gunpoint while promising to return for more of the criminals Burton is harboring.

Originally Aired: March 16, 1938
The Lone Ranger #801, "Amos Franklyn Sheepherder," the classic conflict between cattlemen and sheep ranchers threatens to explode into violence. Amos Franklin, a sheepherder in Mariposa, faces mounting pressure from local cattlemen who claim his flocks are ruining the range and fouling the watering holes. When a cowman named Vince Bennett arrives at Franklin's door in the middle of the night, he delivers a grim warning: Franklin's herder has been hog-tied, his dog killed, and his sheep scattered helpless across the gullies. The cattlemen want Franklin gone, and this is their final warning.
Into this powder keg rides the notorious outlaw Scar Gordon, who presents himself as Franklin's unlikely savior. Gordon offers to provide hired guns to help the sheepherder defend his rights, positioning himself as a friend while concealing his true motives involving revenge against cattleman Bo McPherson. As Franklin reluctantly considers hiring Gordon's gang of wanted men, Tonto discovers the scheme and races to alert the Lone Ranger. With a range war brewing and Franklin's valuable sheep herd at stake, the masked rider must intervene before Gordon's manipulation turns a territorial dispute into deadly bloodshed.

Originally Aired: March 14, 1938
The Lone Ranger #800, "Homesteader Jeb Martin," finds the masked man and Tonto encountering desperate homesteader Jeb Martin and his family fleeing California with a sick child. Martin explains that while the government granted settlers land in California, Spanish landowner Ortega refuses to recognize these claims, holding firm to an earlier grant from the Spanish governor for hundreds of thousands of acres. Dozens of pioneer wagons sit camped at Ortega's southern boundary, their occupants ready to fight for the land promised to them, while Ortega threatens violence against anyone who trespasses.
After helping the Martin family and learning of the brewing conflict, the Lone Ranger convinces the reluctant Jeb to return to California rather than give up on his dreams. Meanwhile, a U.S. Marshal visits Ortega's ranch house, attempting to negotiate a peaceful settlement. With Ortega using only a fraction of his vast holdings and other landowners having cooperated with homesteaders, the Marshal tries to persuade the stubborn rancher to compromise before violence erupts between the two groups, threatening to spark a larger conflict between nations.

Originally Aired: March 11, 1938
In The Lone Ranger #799, "Andy Beechum Prospector," hardworking prospector Andy Beechum has finally struck gold after years of searching, but his triumph may be short-lived. To work his claim, Andy borrowed money from local moneylender Mark Nelson, unaware that his employee, the surly Black Mike, has been secretly reporting to Nelson about the mine's true value. While Mike tells Andy the claim shows no promise, he reveals to Nelson that they're on the verge of hitting the mother lode. A chance encounter brings reformed gambler Rod Ramsey to Andy's home, where he shares his search for the mysterious masked man and his Indian companion who once saved his life.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto are already investigating the suspicious situation at the mine. Having overheard Mike's deceptive reports to Andy, they suspect a conspiracy between the crooked worker and the moneylender to steal the claim. As Tonto trails Black Mike to town to gather evidence, the stage is set for the masked rider and his allies to expose the scheme before Andy loses everything he's worked so hard to find.

Originally Aired: March 7, 1938
The Lone Ranger #797, "Jim Murdock S Mine,"
Jim Murdock has grown wealthy from his gold mine, but his fortune is built on a lie. Years ago, he and his partner Abe Jenkins agreed to split their claim, each working their section independently. Murdock's half produced riches while Jenkins' yielded nothing, leaving Jenkins' family desperate and starving. What Jenkins doesn't know is that Murdock deliberately schemed to take the valuable land for himself. When Jenkins arrives at Murdock's canyon-side home demanding food and blankets at gunpoint, Murdock surprisingly cooperates. But his conspirator Barney Holden has darker plans to eliminate Jenkins permanently and protect their secret.
After Jenkins leaves with provisions for his suffering family, Holden rushes to town with shocking news: Murdock's home shows signs of a violent struggle, a window is smashed, and Murdock has vanished near the edge of Grant's Canyon. The sheriff quickly focuses suspicion on Jenkins, the desperate man everyone heard threatening Murdock. As a posse prepares to arrest Jenkins for robbery and murder, the masked rider and his faithful companion Tonto must uncover the truth behind this elaborate frame-up before an innocent man pays for Murdock's crimes.