Tonto: Tales of the Lone Ranger

Originally Aired: September 26, 1938
In The Lone Ranger #884, "Gold Mine Boundary," a bitter dispute over mining claims leads to deception and danger in the gold country near Oak Falls. Bull and Jake, two dishonest prospectors, secretly tunnel from their worthless claim into the mine of Steve Gardner, where they discover a rich vein of gold ore on his property. When they attempt to buy Steve's claim at a low price, he angrily refuses, remembering how they previously cheated him on a fraudulent sale. Steve is caring for his ailing father and desperately needs money, but his stubborn pride and justified distrust won't allow him to do business with the two swindlers again.
Rebuffed in their attempt at a buyout, Bull hints at a sinister alternative plan involving Big Stone Canyon. Two weeks later, Bull intercepts Tonto on a mountain trail with a suspicious story about a lame horse and a lucrative gold discovery. He offers Tonto over a hundred dollars in gold to deliver a message to Steve Gardner, claiming Steve won't listen to him directly because of past bad blood between them. The setup suggests a dangerous trap is being laid for the unsuspecting prospector.

Originally Aired: September 23, 1938
The Lone Ranger #883, "Moccasin Prints," the masked rider and Tonto respond to three gunshots in the night—a distress signal. They discover Cephas Conway dying from a gunshot wound. The old man struggles to reveal the identity of a killer who has already murdered three others, but dies before he can name the culprit. When Deputy Sheriffs Bart and Jack arrive moments later, they mistake the Lone Ranger for the murderer. He's forced to fight his way out to avoid capture, leaving himself the prime suspect in a string of mysterious deaths.
Now wanted for murder, the Lone Ranger must work outside the law to clear his name. The deputies report finding moccasin prints outside Cephas's house and glimpsing an Indian accomplice fleeing the scene, leading Sheriff Brell to order a manhunt for Tonto. With both the Lone Ranger and Tonto now wanted men, they face the challenge of proving their innocence while uncovering the real killer—someone Cephas had been close to identifying before his death. The masked man learns that Cephas had discovered crucial evidence about the murderer, but that information died with him.

Originally Aired: September 21, 1938
The Lone Ranger #882, "Bad Water," finds construction overseer Jim Webster facing a crisis that could derail his railroad project. When workers at his camp fall violently ill with fever and one man dies, panic threatens to shut down the entire operation. A mysterious Indian named Tonto arrives in camp and diagnoses the problem as bad water, successfully treating the sick men and preventing further illness. Webster grows suspicious that someone deliberately filled the camp canteens from a contaminated spring, especially after discovering his medicine kit has been stolen.
When Webster reports the delays to his boss Felix Gibbons at the company's Green Flats office, he receives no sympathy. Gibbons refuses to pay for Tonto's help and threatens Webster with the loss of all wages if the contract isn't completed on schedule. The rival Maryland company stands ready to seize the lucrative railroad contract if Webster's crew falls behind. As Webster prepares to leave the office, secretary Miss Marley hints that she knows something important about the suspicious incidents at camp, setting the stage for a deeper conspiracy to sabotage the railroad's progress.

Originally Aired: September 19, 1938
The Lone Ranger #881, "Bullet For Tonto A,"
In the mining town of Burnside at the foot of Eagle Pass, tension erupts when the bitter Dan Latham confronts his niece Mary Frisbee on the street. Dan resents his former partner and brother-in-law Paul Frisbee, Mary's father, believing Paul swindled him out of his share of their mining claim years ago. Despite Paul's generosity over the years, giving Dan thousands of dollars out of sympathy, the angry drunk refuses to be grateful and threatens that he's finally going to "get square." When Dan roughly grabs Mary's arm, a helpful Indian named Tonto intervenes, earning Dan's hatred along with a vow of revenge against them all.
Mary returns home troubled by her uncle's behavior, sensing something more dangerous than his usual drunken complaints. Her concern deepens when Tonto arrives with alarming news: he overheard Dan talking with another man while refusing a drink and staying sober for once, saying he has "plenty big plans." Paul assigns his ranch hand Jim Brandt to escort Mary through Eagle Pass for her planned visit to her aunt, but the household remains uneasy about what Dan might be plotting.

Originally Aired: September 16, 1938
The Lone Ranger #880, "The Trust Of Barnaby,"
In the gold country surrounding Flat Rock, Barnaby Greer receives disturbing news from a St. Louis lawyer: his late brother Pete's three children are being sent west to claim their inheritance, a gold mine that Barnaby and his partner Stan Denton have been secretly working for themselves. Panicking over the prospect of having to account for all the gold they've taken, Stan hatches a plan to intercept the children at the stage depot. He meets young Tom, Sally, and little Betty with a convincing tale of woe—claiming their Uncle Barnaby is sick, the mine has caved in, and all the money is gone. Stan scrapes together just enough cash to send them back east on the next stage, playing on their sympathies and fears of becoming a burden.
However, Tonto encounters the children at the depot and grows suspicious of Stan's story. After speaking with the youngsters and witnessing Stan's hostile reaction, the faithful Indian companion rides to tell the Lone Ranger what he's discovered. As Stan races back to warn Barnaby that the children are now heading to the house instead of leaving town, the stage is set for the masked rider to intervene in this scheme to cheat innocent orphans out of their rightful inheritance.

Originally Aired: September 14, 1938
The Lone Ranger #879, "Water Rights," the Masked Man and Tonto find themselves in the middle of a brewing range war between two prominent Texas ranchers, Bill Halstead and Bart Conway. When the sheriff and his deputy try to block their passage on the trail, the Lone Ranger learns that Halstead has dammed up a stream, diverting water from Conway's property to his own. The resulting feud has the entire region torn apart, with both sides exchanging gunfire and the law struggling to maintain order. Despite the sheriff's warnings, the Lone Ranger pushes past the roadblock, determined to investigate whether both men are truly at fault or if something more sinister is behind the conflict.
As the Lone Ranger continues his investigation, suspicious activity emerges. A mysterious man named Pete meets secretly with the sheriff's own deputy, discussing cattle deliveries and the progress of the feud with unusual interest. When Pete generously pays the deputy's drinking debts at the local cafe, it raises eyebrows and questions about what's really happening. The Lone Ranger must uncover whether this water rights dispute is genuine or if outside forces are manipulating both ranchers for their own gain.

Originally Aired: September 12, 1938
The Lone Ranger #878, "Reward Notice," the Lone Ranger and Tonto arrive at a ranch near Dalton owned by Nick Kirby, a lawyer from the East who arouses the Ranger's suspicions. When they're later mistaken for Kirby and nearly shot, a desperate woman named Mrs. Dodwell reveals Kirby's sinister operation. The lawyer has been blackmailing former outlaws trying to live honest lives, forcing them to surrender half their cattle or face exposure to the authorities. When her husband Lem refused to pay, Kirby turned him in as an army deserter and collected a fifty-dollar bounty. Now Kirby has an entire ranch built on extortion, protected by the very people who want him dead—if anything happens to him, all his secrets will be revealed to the law.
The Ranger confronts Sheriff Allen in Dalton, discovering that the entire town lives under Kirby's thumb. The lawyer employs outlaws like Scar Larkin to work his ranch when his victims can't afford his demands, and the townspeople are forced to protect the man they despise most. The Ranger must find a way to bring this corrupt lawyer to justice without destroying the lives of those who've earned their second chance.

Originally Aired: September 9, 1938
The Lone Ranger #877, "Caught Red Handed," a railroad construction crew reaches a small community near the Rocky Mountains, where advance knowledge of the railroad's route could make unscrupulous men rich. Zeke Slathan, a cunning schemer, has uncovered the criminal past of Harvey Grant, assistant manager to construction boss John Shaw. Zeke blackmails Harvey into stealing secret railroad plans from the company safe, but they need a scapegoat to avoid suspicion. Their target is Jack Shaw, the boss's son.
Zeke lures young Jack into a rigged poker game and gets him deep in debt with IOUs totaling a thousand dollars. When Zeke demands that Jack steal his own father's railroad plans to settle the debt, Jack realizes he's been cheated and a violent confrontation erupts in the cafe. The Lone Ranger, watching nearby in disguise with Tonto, intervenes just as guns are drawn. The masked man sees through the scheme and sends Jack home to safety, but Zeke's plan may already be in motion as Harvey prepares to betray his boss and frame the innocent young man.

Originally Aired: September 7, 1938
The Lone Ranger #876, "The Little Red Schoolhouse," follows young rancher Jim Hudson as he faces mounting troubles in the cattle country. Jim has worked hard to build his modest spread, but powerful landowner Silas Markheim wants Jim's land for its water rights and will stop at nothing to get it. When Jim's cattle mysteriously die and his horses are poisoned, he suspects Markheim is behind the sabotage. Making matters worse, Jim has built a schoolhouse hoping to bring Mary Stevens, a teacher from back East, to serve the community and perhaps win her hand in marriage. However, Markheim controls the town so completely that he forbids families from sending their children to any school connected to Jim.
When Mary arrives on the stagecoach, she's met not by Jim but by his hired hand Dan, who reveals he has romantic interests of his own. Mary discovers there are no students for her school, as Markheim has intimidated the townspeople into keeping their children away. Young Dick Markheim and Sally express their disappointment at not being able to attend, hinting that not everyone supports Silas Markheim's tyrannical control. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger takes interest in the situation and heads up the hill to confront Markheim directly.

Originally Aired: September 5, 1938
The Lone Ranger #875, "Forgotten Laws," the masked rider and Tonto arrive in Springville, Texas, only to discover the peaceful town has fallen victim to a corrupt scheme. Judge Ezra Eccles and the sheriff have unearthed long-forgotten statutes from an old law book and are using them to systematically fleece honest citizens through excessive fines. When rancher Bill Stevens is arrested for carrying a gun and slapped with multiple penalties totaling over a hundred dollars, it becomes clear that no one is safe from these arbitrary prosecutions. Laws against hitching horses on Main Street, driving cattle through town, and even contempt of court are being weaponized for profit, with the judge and sheriff splitting the proceeds.
When the Lone Ranger and Tonto encounter a desperate cowman forced to drive his herd through treacherous swampland to avoid further fines, they learn the full extent of the conspiracy. The rancher has already lost his cash, his gun, and now must sell his cattle just to stay out of jail. Recognizing that these forgotten laws are being used to rob the townspeople blind, the Lone Ranger devises a plan. He sends Tonto into town with gold coins, deliberately making himself a target to expose the corrupt operation and restore justice to Springville.