Tonto: Tales of the Lone Ranger

Originally Aired: October 21, 1938
In The Lone Ranger #895, "Children Of The West," the Lone Ranger and Tonto encounter Dave Clayton, a middle-aged man who has spent three years caring for two orphaned children, Johnny and Edith, after discovering their dying mother. Living in a covered wagon and moving from town to town for odd jobs, Dave has given the children what little he can, though he worries they lack a proper home and education. Their modest existence takes a dark turn when Sheriff and several townsmen, including the hostile Ben Lugent, arrive with troubling accusations. Every household where Johnny and Edith have worked has reported thefts, and suspicion has fallen squarely on the children.
Despite Dave's fierce defense of the youngsters and his friend Silas's faith in them, tension mounts in the community. Ben demands the sheriff run them out of the district, while Silas offers to have the children work at his home to prove their innocence. The Lone Ranger, traveling in disguise, witnesses these events and takes particular interest in Ben's accusations. As days pass with the children working at Silas's home without incident, Ben grows increasingly insistent that trouble is coming, leaving the masked rider to uncover who is truly behind the thefts plaguing Westwood.

Originally Aired: October 19, 1938
The Lone Ranger #894, "False Story A," a daring bank robbery in Martinsville sets off a deadly chase across the prairie. Two bandits, Steve and Tennessee, flee town with over $15,000 in stolen cash, but they find themselves pursued by a mysterious rider on a white horse who steadily gains on them despite their breakneck pace. The outlaws race toward a bridge where their accomplice Sam Larkin waits, and in a desperate bid to stop their pursuer, Sam detonates explosives just as the masked rider reaches the span. The criminals believe their problem is solved when the bridge—and presumably the rider—are blown to bits.
The cunning Steve has orchestrated an elaborate scheme. He sends Sam back to Martinsville with a fabricated story and false descriptions of the robbers, complete with bullet holes through his hat and sleeve as evidence. Meanwhile, Steve and Tennessee plan to hide in plain sight by returning to town as if they'd simply been on a prospecting trip. As Sam spins his tale to Sheriff Potsdam, the outlaws congratulate themselves on the perfect crime. But at the masked rider's camp, his faithful companion Tonto grows increasingly worried when his friend fails to return, and sets out at dawn to discover what has happened.

Originally Aired: October 14, 1938
The Lone Ranger #892, "Andy S Mule," finds the masked rider and Tonto arriving in Danville to deliver a message to prospector Andy's daughter Peggy, only to discover that Andy has mysteriously disappeared. Three days earlier, Andy's mule Noah arrived in town without its owner, and despite extensive searches, no trace of the old prospector has been found. When the Lone Ranger reveals that Andy had recently discovered gold, Sheriff Dolly and the townspeople grow suspicious. The situation becomes dangerous when Vic Fletcher and his associate Lige Brinker, who claim to have found the wandering mule, accuse the Lone Ranger and Tonto of murdering Andy and stealing his gold dust.
What no one in Danville knows is that Andy is actually being held prisoner in a remote trapper's cabin by Mike Moody, while Fletcher and Brinker maintain their innocent facade in town. The stubborn old prospector refuses to reveal where he hid his gold, even under threat, having anticipated the robbery attempt. Now the Lone Ranger must clear his own name while racing to find Andy before his captors force him to talk or worse.

Originally Aired: October 12, 1938
The Lone Ranger #891, "Wagon Train Survivor,"
The Lone Ranger and Tonto encounter a young white boy living with Crow Indians who calls himself Little Beaver. The boy, dressed and speaking as an Indian, wears a small gold ring engraved with "T. Laramie." The name leads the masked rider to an elderly couple in the town of Red Run—the Laramies, who have come west searching for their missing grandson. Five years earlier, their son Jack, his wife Edith, and four-year-old Ted were traveling with a wagon train that was massacred by outlaws. While Jack and Edith's bodies were found, young Ted disappeared without a trace.
The Lone Ranger, working in disguise, learns from the sheriff that the Laramies have recently come into money and are desperately hoping to find their grandson alive. The sheriff worries that publicizing the search might attract criminals hoping to exploit the grieving couple's wealth by presenting false heirs. With Little Beaver potentially being young Ted Laramie, the masked rider must carefully navigate reuniting the boy with his family while protecting them from those who would take advantage of their situation.

Originally Aired: October 10, 1938
The Lone Ranger #890, "Canyon Of Danger," finds the masked rider and Tonto racing through the night when they spot a red glare in the sky near the Barnes Ranch. Arriving too late to save the burning ranch house, they discover young Davy Barnes hiding nearby. The boy tells a harrowing tale: outlaws rode up without warning, killed his father Pete Barnes in cold blood, and kidnapped his mother Molly when she refused to reveal where the family's cash was hidden. The raiders fled when they heard the Lone Ranger and Tonto approaching, taking Mrs. Barnes with them as a hostage.
When a posse led by the sheriff arrives from town, they nearly mistake the Lone Ranger and Tonto for the culprits. Davy sets them straight, explaining that the masked men saved his life. The sheriff suspects a notorious outlaw named Red Purvis and his gang. Suspiciously, Davy's uncle Joe Barnes seems rattled when he learns the boy survived, raising questions about who might have known the family's routine well enough to plan such a calculated attack. The Lone Ranger and Tonto ride hard into the hills, following the outlaws' trail to rescue the kidnapped woman.

Originally Aired: October 7, 1938
The Lone Ranger #889, "Red Barber Helps The Lampsons,"
Sheriff Hawkins posts a reward notice in Roaring Gap for the notorious outlaw Red Barber, a dangerous two-gun man wanted for crimes ranging from murder to stage robbery. The masked rider and Tonto arrive in town seeking the outlaw, but they quickly learn of another troubling situation. Young Billy Lampson works grueling hours for the miserly storekeeper Ebenezer Lawless, barely earning enough to survive while his wife Nancy lies desperately ill. Nancy needs treatment at the coast to survive, but Billy can't afford it on his meager wages. The townspeople sympathize with the Lampsons' plight, but Billy's pride prevents him from accepting charity.
The Lone Ranger investigates both situations, discovering that Red Barber has been active nearby, evidenced by bullet-riddled reward notices. As Billy struggles to care for his ailing wife and maintain hope for her recovery, the masked rider searches for a way to help the desperate young couple while also tracking down the dangerous outlaw who threatens the territory.

Originally Aired: October 5, 1938
The Lone Ranger #888, "Water For Cows And Sheep,"
The Lone Ranger and Tonto ride toward Cripple Creek to visit Maggie McGee, a determined young widow who leads the sheepherders in the area. The masked rider hopes to check on the peace he helped establish a year earlier, but trouble is brewing once again. Cattleman Pete Dexter pays Maggie a visit, demanding she sell her land and leave the territory. When she refuses, Dexter issues an ominous warning: the cattlemen are desperate for water, and since their cows won't drink from streams used by sheep, they're prepared to take drastic action. Maggie dismisses his threats as empty bluster, but her neighbor Lim arrives with alarming news.
Lim reveals that Dexter and the other cattlemen are hiring professional gunslingers at five dollars a day, plus bounties for every sheepherder killed when the war begins. With the sheriff and marshal on the cattlemen's side, the sheepherders are outnumbered ten to one and facing impossible odds. As the Lone Ranger approaches town, he encounters one of these hired guns and learns the conflict is about to explode into open violence.

Originally Aired: October 3, 1938
The Lone Ranger #887, "Second Chance A," Jack Bates and his wife Mary are settling down to supper at their small North Texas ranch when Mary mentions a stranger with a frightful scar came by asking about Jack. The news sends Jack into a panic, and his worst fears are confirmed when Lem Holstead appears at the door. Holstead, fresh out of prison, reveals Jack's dark secret: he's really a fugitive named Morton, wanted for murder in Kansas from years ago. Holstead demands Jack sign over his farm in exchange for silence, threatening to collect the thousand-dollar reward otherwise. Jack's carefully built peaceful life with his unsuspecting wife hangs in the balance.
In desperation, as Holstead rides away, Jack draws his gun and considers silencing the blackmailer permanently. But the Lone Ranger and Tonto have been watching from a nearby arroyo, and the masked man stops Jack before he can pull the trigger. The Ranger reveals he understands Jack's situation and heard everything, leaving Jack to wonder whether this mysterious stranger will help him or turn him in to face justice for his past crimes.

Originally Aired: September 30, 1938
The Lone Ranger #886, "Trouble At Fort Gardner," a crisis unfolds when Private Carl Jordan convinces his best friend, sentry Stan Keating, to let him slip through the lines to marry his sweetheart Amy in Redwood City. The Lone Ranger and Tonto, investigating a series of thefts of arms and ammunition from the fort, witness a rider leaving camp despite the sentry's denial. When Jordan fails to return and twenty rifles with ammunition disappear that same night, Major Brandon accuses both soldiers of being traitors selling weapons to hostile Indians. Stan insists Carl only went to see his girl, but the Major refuses to believe him.
The confrontation escalates when Stan, outraged at being called a traitor, strikes Major Brandon in defense of his and Carl's honor. Though Stan cannot be convicted of theft, he faces court-martial for striking a superior officer and receives a dishonorable discharge. Two days later, a dejected Stan arrives at the Redwood City cafe looking for Amy, only to be approached by a mysterious stranger who knows his name and wants to talk.

Originally Aired: September 28, 1938
The Lone Ranger #885, "Mortgage Payment Due," follows rancher Clem Barton as he prepares to make a crucial $5,000 mortgage payment to Banker Shaw. After missing their initial meeting when Shaw departs on the evening stage to Gold City, Clem arranges to meet him the following night at ten o'clock. The money, borrowed from his wife Sophie's brother back East, represents their only chance to save the ranch. When Clem rides to town for their appointment, disaster strikes on the moonlit trail when a shot rings out from behind a cut bank, knocking him unconscious and leaving him robbed of the entire sum.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto arrive on the scene just as the attack occurs, finding the wounded rancher on the trail. As they help Clem recover from his head wound, disturbing questions emerge about the robbery. The masked rider learns that only Banker Shaw knew about the cash, yet the mortgage holder would have no reason to steal money meant for himself. With Clem facing financial ruin and the circumstances of the ambush appearing increasingly suspicious, the Lone Ranger begins investigating what may be more than a simple robbery.