The Lone Ranger 38-03-14 (0800) Homesteader Jeb Martin

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Lone Ranger 38-03-14 (0800) Homesteader Jeb Martin

Podcast Information:

• Title: Harold's Old Time Radio
• Host/Author: Harold's Old Time Radio
• Episode: The Lone Ranger 38-03-14 (0800) Homesteader Jeb Martin
• Release Date: July 28, 2025
• Description: Radio shows from the Golden Age of Radio featuring timeless adventures such as The Shadow, Abbott & Costello, Amos & Andy, Dragnet, and many more.

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Introduction

In this thrilling episode of The Lone Ranger, listeners are transported to the tumultuous western plains and prairies of the United States during a period of intense land disputes. The episode, titled "Homesteader Jeb Martin," delves into the conflict between homesteaders and a stubborn landowner named Ortega, who refuses to honor federal land grants. The Lone Ranger, alongside his loyal companion Tonto, steps in to mediate and restore peace.

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Setting the Scene

The episode opens with the classic Lone Ranger introduction, setting a dramatic tone as the heroic deeds of the Lone Ranger and Tonto are recounted:

[02:03] Narrator: "The western plains and prairies of the United States thrilled to the heroic deeds of an unknown writer. A masked man who rode in the cause of justice."

As the story unfolds, the Lone Ranger and Tonto arrive at the southern Sierra Nevadas amidst escalating tensions between homesteaders and Ortega's men.

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Conflict Emerges

Upon arrival, the Lone Ranger encounters Jeb Martin and his family struggling with a broken wagon wheel:

[04:06] Ortega: "Can you help a man in trouble?"

Martha Martin explains the dire situation:

[04:12] Martha Martin: "But we need water... The kid ain't very well."

The Lone Ranger assesses the situation, recognizing the deeper conflict:

[05:10] Lone Ranger: "Didn't you find that to be true?"

Martha reveals the crux of the issue:

[05:18] Martha Martin: "I ain't the only one that's having trouble... If it ain't bloodshed on Ortega's place."

The tension between the homesteaders' federal land grants and Ortega's Spanish land grants sets the stage for impending conflict.

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Confrontation with Ortega

The Lone Ranger decides to confront Ortega directly. Upon meeting Ortega, they engage in a tense dialogue over land ownership:

[13:02] Lone Ranger: "Aren't you a United States marshal?"

[13:03] Ortega: "I am."

[13:04] Lone Ranger: "Then why don't you insist that Ortega make a fair deal with those people beyond the river?"

Ortega remains obstinate, refusing to concede any land to the homesteaders. The Lone Ranger introduces a strategic plan to undermine Ortega's claims:

[24:05] Lone Ranger: "If the river happened to change its course, Ortega and Flow in its original bed, your land would be reduced to less than 1,000 acres."

This revelation forces Ortega to confront the potential loss of his extensive land holdings.

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Turning the Tide

As the confrontation intensifies, the Lone Ranger employs tactics to challenge Ortega's authority. An explosion is orchestrated to alter the river's course, weakening Ortega's legal standing over the land:

[24:17] Ortega: "What of that?"

[24:18] Lone Ranger: "If the river happened to change its course... This land is not yours."

Faced with undeniable evidence and strategic pressure, Ortega begins to reconsider his stance.

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Resolution and Peace Restored

Under mounting pressure from the Lone Ranger and the tangible threat to his land, Ortega relents:

[26:34] Ortega: "I make my choice. I have no choice. I take what you will give me. I must be content."

He agrees to a fair settlement, relinquishing the majority of his land while retaining his immediate holdings:

[26:57] United States Marshal: "Now you're talking sense. Your selfish hide. It took the Lone Ranger to make you talk sense."

Ortega acknowledges the wisdom in the Lone Ranger's approach and agrees to abide by the new arrangements, ensuring peace for the homesteaders and a sustainable future for his family.

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Aftermath and Reflection

In the concluding segments, the homesteaders, led by Jeb Martin and his wife Martha, begin rebuilding their lives with renewed hope:

[20:45] Lone Ranger: "How's your son, Jeb, stranger?"

[20:49] Martha Martin: "Thanks to you and your partner, the Injun. Billy's most well already."

The episode wraps up with the Lone Ranger and Tonto riding off, having successfully mediated the conflict and upheld justice.

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Notable Quotes

• [05:10] Lone Ranger: "Didn't you find that to be true?"
• [24:05] Lone Ranger: "If the river happened to change its course, Ortega and Flow in its original bed, your land would be reduced to less than 1,000 acres."
• [26:34] Ortega: "I make my choice. I have no choice. I take what you will give me. I must be content."

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Conclusion

"The Lone Ranger 38-03-14 (0800) Homesteader Jeb Martin" is a quintessential Golden Age radio drama that encapsulates the spirit of justice and fairness. Through strategic negotiation and unwavering moral integrity, the Lone Ranger resolves a complex land dispute, ensuring peace and prosperity for the homesteaders while providing Ortega with a dignified exit from conflict. This episode not only entertains but also underscores timeless values of courage, fairness, and community.

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Disclaimer: This summary is a fictional representation based on the provided transcript and podcast information.

Transcript

[Narrator]

A fiery horse with the speed of.

[Lone Ranger]

Light, a cloud of dust and a hearty HI O. Silver.

[Narrator]

The Lone Ranger.

[Tonto]

It's SA Sam.

[Narrator]

The western plains and prairies of the United States thrilled to the heroic deeds of an unknown writer. A masked man who rode in the cause of justice. People of seven states felt the influence of his courageous deeds. Stories have been handed down through the years of his many adventures in the newly established American territory. Even today, the cowboys relate tales of his stirring exploits. Listen to those silver shot hoops as they race over the hard packed roadbeds of yesteryear. The Lone Ranger rides again.

[Tonto]

Come on, Silver, old boy. We'll be in the mountains in a few minutes and we'll meet our good friend Tado Ariel. Silver.

[Narrator]

When the government opened California to homesteaders, unexpected trouble arose. The Spanish had granted huge tracts of land to their countrymen and these grants were in direct conflict with the titles of the incoming homesteaders. Now both factions claimed ownership and were ready to defend their claims with six guns and bullets. Tragedy such as the west had never known before threatened the peace of two nations. At this disturbed period in our nation's history, we find the Lone Ranger and his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, arriving at the top of a hill in the southern Sierra Nevadas.

[Ortega]

Hello, Silver.

[Lone Ranger]

Hello there. Hello, my fellow.

[Tonto]

Oh.

[Jeb Martin]

Oh, now. Now we see far ahead.

[Lone Ranger]

And Tonto, there's someone in trouble.

[Jeb Martin]

Oh, Wagon wheel broke.

[Lone Ranger]

And those people are a long ways from the nearest water. Come on, Silver. Get up.

[Jeb Martin]

My fellow wagon come for me.

[Lone Ranger]

Probably some homesteaders. Come on, Silver.

[Jeb Martin]

Them going wrong way.

[Lone Ranger]

That's so. The wagon's coming from the west. And yet it's the same kind of wagon that all the Easterners use.

[Ortega]

We soon find out.

[Martha Martin]

Hey, stranger.

[Ortega]

Hey. Oh, there's.

[Martha Martin]

Can you help a man in trouble?

[Lone Ranger]

Broken wheel, huh?

[Martha Martin]

That ain't the main trouble. I can fix that, given time. But we need water.

[Lone Ranger]

We have plenty.

[Martha Martin]

I wouldn't ask two man for water this far from a spring. But I got my wife and young un inside the wagon there. The kid ain't very well.

[Lone Ranger]

Take a look at them, Tuttle.

[Jeb Martin]

Me give him water Respect.

[Martha Martin]

You're an outlaw wearing the mask. But I got precious little worth stealing, so I ain't afeared.

[Lone Ranger]

I'm not an outlaw. Why are you heading east?

[Ortega]

Huh?

[Martha Martin]

What other way should I be heading?

[Lone Ranger]

Didn't you come from the east?

[Martha Martin]

Yeah, and I'm getting back there as quick as the good Lord will let me. If. If I can make it.

[Ortega]

Why Had a home there.

[Martha Martin]

Not much of A place, but better nothing. Sold it and sold most of what else we had. We staked everything on the stories of California. Land of promise, land of sunshine. A place where a man could settle down and bring up his family. Where a man could live in peace and security.

[Lone Ranger]

Didn't you find that to be true?

[Martha Martin]

The government gave me the land. They didn't tell me I'd have to stand up and shoot down a couple dozen men to hold it.

[Lone Ranger]

What do you mean?

[Martha Martin]

Just that. What's more, I ain't the only one that's having trouble. I'm going back. But there's a plenty will stay and fight it out. If there ain't bloodshed on Ortega's place. My name ain't Jeb Martin.

[Billy Martin]

Jeb. Jeb. Who's the engine?

[Lone Ranger]

He's a friend of mine.

[Martha Martin]

What's the matter, Marthy?

[Billy Martin]

He gave Billy and me a drink of water and now he's talking to little Billy inside the wagon. There Billy is smiling for the first time in two weeks.

[Martha Martin]

Then that Injun is my friend, stranger. I don't suppose you know what it means to have a sick youngster.

[Lone Ranger]

Toddler can do more for him than most doctors.

[Billy Martin]

The drinking water will help him some.

[Lone Ranger]

Hey, Jab. Don't you want water, too?

[Martha Martin]

Have you got a Plenty?

[Lone Ranger]

Yes, plenty.

[Martha Martin]

Thank you, mister. Much obliged. I'm afeared Billy wouldn't ever stand the trip east. And now that we're marooned here, till I get that wagon wheel fixed, there ain't no telling what the hot sun will do to the lad.

[Jeb Martin]

Boy get well heap soon.

[Martha Martin]

What's that?

[Jeb Martin]

Are you sure, Santo Tonto no fever. Give him little feller good medicine.

[Billy Martin]

Is it going to be all right?

[Lone Ranger]

If Tonto says that, you may be.

[Ortega]

Sure it's right water in my boy's life.

[Martha Martin]

Stranger, There was only some way I could pay you. Well, I got some cash I might.

[Lone Ranger]

Ask a favor of you. Jeb.

[Martha Martin]

It's done.

[Lone Ranger]

Tell me more about the Ortega ranch.

[Martha Martin]

Well, it seems that a couple of hundred thousand acres of land was given Ortega's Paul by the Spanish governor. That is before the United States took over the territory. Yes, Ortega still holds that land. And if ever there was an ornery coyote, he's it. Got it from his paw and won't give way one inch to the folks that been given the same land by our own government.

[Lone Ranger]

There have been other situations of that.

[Billy Martin]

Sort and they've all ended in fighting.

[Lone Ranger]

There've been some troubles, but they've generally been settled to everyone's satisfaction.

[Billy Martin]

But not Ortega.

[Martha Martin]

Gosh no. There's 20 or 30 wagons pulled up just beyond the river that bounds his ranch on the south.

[Lone Ranger]

Wagons belonging to pioneers.

[Martha Martin]

Yeah, with a government swear that they can settle on Ortega's land. They tried every way to make that critter come to terms. But he won't talk any language but the language of the six gun and rifle.

[Lone Ranger]

What do those people plan to do?

[Martha Martin]

Wait till they get some more folks there and take the land by force?

[Billy Martin]

Well, we ain't joining them. Even if they did drive Ortega and his men off the land, it wouldn't be permanent.

[Lone Ranger]

No, you're quite right.

[Billy Martin]

It'd be just be the starting of a war that would last till everyone was wiped out. I'd sooner take the risk of heading back east.

[Lone Ranger]

California is one of the grandest parts of the whole world.

[Martha Martin]

But it ain't for us, stranger.

[Lone Ranger]

I'm going to see those men who are camped near the Ortega ranch.

[Martha Martin]

You'll see them all right. Enough. Just follow the Mojave river and you'll see them camp to the south of where it bends.

[Lone Ranger]

Very well. You ready, Tunder?

[Ortega]

Me ready?

[Lone Ranger]

Yeah. I'm going to make another request of you.

[Martha Martin]

Yeah?

[Lone Ranger]

When your wheel is fixed, go back to California.

[Sheriff]

Go back?

[Martha Martin]

But strange.

[Lone Ranger]

Unless you're a quitter. Of course there's no room in California for quitters. But I don't think men without courage would have undertaken this trip in the first place.

[Billy Martin]

You mean we should go fight Ortega?

[Lone Ranger]

No, go back and see what happens.

[Martha Martin]

But what's going to happen?

[Billy Martin]

The only law in the region is the law Ortega makes.

[Martha Martin]

The government double crossed us. They should have sent troops to make sure we got what was promised us.

[Lone Ranger]

There are other laws and those laws will be enforced. However, I've made my second request. Do what you please about granting it.

[Billy Martin]

Jeb. Who in the name of caution was that man?

[Martha Martin]

I don't know.

[Billy Martin]

Martha, we can't go back there.

[Martha Martin]

Honey, I'm afeared. We can't do nothing else.

[Billy Martin]

You're going back.

[Martha Martin]

The masked man gave us water. The engine helped our son. I told him I'd do whatever he wanted. Martha, as soon as that there wheel is fixed, we're going back.

[Narrator]

It was nearly sundown when the Lone Ranger and Tonto came within sight of the Ortega ranch. The homesteaders denied their rights by Ortega had made camp near the boundary line and there the masked man paused to verify the statements of Jeb Martin. Meanwhile, the United States Marshal was in Ortega's ranch house trying to persuade the stubborn landowner to act fairly.

[United States Marshal]

You can be fair about it, Ortega. You've got over a hundred thousand acres of land here.

[Ortega]

It is mine, all mine. I will not give it up.

[United States Marshal]

But all you're using is about 10,000 acres. The rest just goes to waste.

[Ortega]

It is mine to do with as I choose. I will not change my mind.

[United States Marshal]

Now, look at it this way. If you persist in keeping these pioneers off the land, you won't gain anything but ill will and hard feelings. All others in your position have been fair about it. The folks in the east that have come here have done a heap of good.

[Ortega]

No?

[United States Marshal]

Now, let me show you.

[Ortega]

What? Here.

[United States Marshal]

Here's a map of this section. And here's the river. You see?

[Ortega]

I see. My land begins here. If the river is the south boundary and it bends to form the boundary on the west.

[Lone Ranger]

Yeah.

[United States Marshal]

And your land runs all the way back here. Miles of land. All the way to the line markers, see? Now, if you'd let those settlers take that land away back here near the line, you'd make everyone satisfied. And then, on our recommendation, the government would be sure you'd keep the rest of the land for your own.

[Ortega]

I own all the land. It is mine. I will hold. I have men, many men here. Men whose fathers live here on my land. Before them, men who fight for me and with me. We don't want no fighting. I hold what is mine at all costs.

[United States Marshal]

All the way from the river to the line markers?

[Ortega]

That is right. All the way from the river to the line markers.

[United States Marshal]

You make things downright hard for me.

[Ortega]

Why should I care?

[United States Marshal]

Because there'll be trouble.

[Ortega]

Still. I do not care. I'm sorry. Let any man put foot on this side of the river, he shall trespass. To trespass is to face bullets.

[Martha Martin]

I told you not to disturb us.

[Sheriff]

Senor, two men cross the river.

[Ortega]

What?

[Sheriff]

It is true. They come this way.

[Martha Martin]

One is Masked Diablo.

[Ortega]

That I do not allow. I have warned them.

[United States Marshal]

Well, see here. There ain't to be no gunplay.

[Ortega]

You have nothing to say?

[Sheriff]

Look at them, senor. You see them?

[Ortega]

I see.

[Jeb Martin]

I call the others.

[Ortega]

Yes, call them. We sure these intruders? I won't let you start fighting on my land. You have nothing to say? Go to see these masked man. I'm here to talk to you, Ortega. You stand where you are. I'm here to speak with you.

[Sheriff]

Some of the men, they are ready. At your word, senor, we shoot, see.

[United States Marshal]

What the man wants.

[Ortega]

Go back. Or do we fire?

[Lone Ranger]

You'll not fire, Ortega. You'll not fire on me because you want to hear what I have to say?

[Ortega]

I assure you way fire. No. You watch that, lawman. I myself, Ortega, will fire.

[Lone Ranger]

You're not aiming to hit me, Ortega. You're simply trying to frighten me away.

[Ortega]

That was warning. The next shot will be closer.

[Lone Ranger]

You tighten your finger on that trigger for another shot, I'll blast that gun from your hand.

[Ortega]

I saw you. I want to petty boy. You shoot Ortega.

[Lone Ranger]

I'll do the same for any other man that tried to shoot me.

[Ortega]

I will do carefully wait.

[Sheriff]

Has hurt you, seor?

[Ortega]

Do not touch me. On. Am I gone, Ranger?

[United States Marshal]

Never in all my life have I seen a man draw on fire like that.

[Lone Ranger]

Aren't you a United States marshal?

[Ortega]

I am.

[Lone Ranger]

Then why don't you insist that Ortega make a fair deal with those people beyond the river?

[Ortega]

I've tried. What is my own I keep. And this land is mine.

[Lone Ranger]

Half of it will be three times as much as you can ever use or take it.

[Ortega]

It is nonetheless mine.

[Lone Ranger]

According to the laws under which this state is governed. None of this land is yours. You can, however, retain pletty for your needs by making a fair agreement. You want to own all the land from that river a quarter mile ahead to the line miles north of here.

[Ortega]

All land between the river and the line is mine.

[Lone Ranger]

Is that the way the land is described in your deeds? Is that true, Marshall?

[United States Marshal]

If the worst of it is strangers, things stand right now. The courts are so mixed up they can't decide on deeds and things.

[Lone Ranger]

And that's true.

[United States Marshal]

I said it was. But how is it you put on a mask to come here? Afraid Ortega would send men across the river to get you? Have he seen your face?

[Lone Ranger]

I represent the men across the river, but I'm not with him.

[Ortega]

Huh?

[Lone Ranger]

But if what this man has said about his deed is true.

[Ortega]

It is true. What of it?

[Lone Ranger]

Ortega? You ought to have one chance.

[Ortega]

You threatened.

[Lone Ranger]

One chance. Will you make an agreement with the pioneers who need land which you will never be able to use?

[Ortega]

No. Again, I say no.

[Lone Ranger]

Very well. And stand by the deed you hold. You'll find it of little value to you.

[Narrator]

The curtain falls on the first act of tonight's thrilling Lone Ranger drama. Before the next exciting scenes. Please permit us to pause for just a few moments.

[Tonto]

Sam it.

[Narrator]

Now to continue our story. You will recall that in the first act of tonight's Lone Ranger drama, the masked man learned from the homesteader, Jeb Martin, that Ortega, the ranch owner, was refusing to recognize the land grants of the federal government. The settlers from the east held at Bay by the guns of Ortega's men were camped beside the Mojave river, the southern boundary of Ortega's ranch. The Lone Ranger visited Ortega, made certain that the stories he'd heard were true, then warned the landowner that he would find his title worthless. The following morning, the United States Marshal stopped at the office of the sheriff, not far from the ranch. We hear him as he tells the sheriff, Ben Burton, of his useless attempt to reason with Ortega.

[United States Marshal]

The critter is even more ornery than you said, Verdon.

[Sheriff]

I can get along with almost every man I ever met, but not with Ortega.

[United States Marshal]

I can understand that.

[Sheriff]

He like the dog in the manger. There he sits with men starving because there ain't no land to settle on and grow crops. And him with 90,000 acres he don't need.

[United States Marshal]

I wish I could savvy that mask, man.

[Sheriff]

It's a curious thing. I wish I'd known what he meant by what he said to Ortega.

[United States Marshal]

I wish you'd been there to see him. He rid up with both his six guns holstered. The time it took Ortega to draw the trigger, he snatched a gun and fired. This bullet knocked Ortega's gun 10ft away. Gosh, never in my life saw anything to equal it.

[Sheriff]

Say, I wonder, by any chance, did he ride a white horse?

[Ortega]

Yeah.

[United States Marshal]

Call the critter Silver.

[Jeb Martin]

Why?

[Sheriff]

I heard of a man like that.

[Ortega]

Where?

[United States Marshal]

Who is he? Is he an outlaw?

[Sheriff]

I don't know who he is.

[United States Marshal]

Wanted by the law, though, ain't he?

[Sheriff]

I don't know whose he is.

[United States Marshal]

Then what's he go mask fer?

[Sheriff]

Don't know that either.

[United States Marshal]

Then blast it all, what do you know?

[Sheriff]

Just one thing, Marshal. If that man's the man I think he is, he meant just what he said.

[Jeb Martin]

About what?

[Sheriff]

About Ortega finding he didn't have as much as he thought he did.

[Ortega]

Why, Senora de la Ortega. Si. So you think there will be the fight?

[United States Marshal]

If there is, I.

[Ortega]

But there will not be. No. Those men. Already they have gone.

[Sheriff]

The settlers?

[Ortega]

Si, senor. I leave this morning at daybreak.

[United States Marshal]

Where'd they go?

[Ortega]

That I do not know. I do not care. They leave with all their wagons and horses. Gosh, the poor critters.

[Sheriff]

They'll never get back where they come from alive.

[United States Marshal]

And there ain't no other free land inside a hundred miles of here.

[Sheriff]

I know it.

[United States Marshal]

Say, Ortega, what'd you come here for?

[Ortega]

To see what you want.

[United States Marshal]

Don't want nothing you got. What's more, I don't even want to see you again.

[Sheriff]

That goes for me, too. You Ornery coyote.

[Ortega]

I ride all this way for nothing.

[United States Marshal]

I don't know why you read this way, but I don't want you.

[Ortega]

You send for me like fun. I did. You do. You send the not. I have it here.

[United States Marshal]

I sent you a note.

[Ortega]

See it?

[Sheriff]

What's it say, Marshal? Must be a mistake.

[United States Marshal]

I never read this note.

[Sheriff]

What is it?

[United States Marshal]

Says it. He wants to make sure he'll keep his land. To report here this morning.

[Lone Ranger]

I sent that.

[Ortega]

What?

[Lone Ranger]

The sucker? The mask, man.

[Sheriff]

A Lone Ranger, that's who it is. You needn't hold that gun on us, stranger. He ain't aiming to shoot.

[Lone Ranger]

I'd sooner take no chance.

[United States Marshal]

You say you wrote that note?

[Lone Ranger]

I did.

[United States Marshal]

Telling Ortega to be here and see me.

[Lone Ranger]

Yes. I want to take it a state before witnesses just what land he claims.

[Ortega]

I have already said, Sheriff.

[Lone Ranger]

Get more witnesses.

[Sheriff]

All right, stranger. I'll do just that. You wait right here. Now, I don't know what you're up to, but I'm willing to find out.

[Ortega]

Hey, Lamb.

[Sheriff]

Get Jim Presby and come in my office.

[Jeb Martin]

All right.

[Sheriff]

You too, Lanny.

[United States Marshal]

Yes. What's the big idea, stranger?

[Lone Ranger]

There seems to be a lot of argument about what land Ortega owns.

[Ortega]

I have proof of what I own.

[Lone Ranger]

I know.

[Ortega]

I show the deed to any who wishes to see it.

[Lone Ranger]

Very well, Orga. There'll be some men here in just a moment who wish to see the deed.

[Narrator]

Ortega showed the deed to his ranch to the witnesses called by the Lone Ranger. It clearly established his claim to all the land between the river and the boundary stakes miles to the north. Then, satisfied that he'd proved his point, Ortega returned to his home. As he rode to his ranch, he passed the deserted camp of the homesteaders. But he did not know that Tonto would lead them back that same night.

[Martha Martin]

It's a dog. Gone dark. I can't see a thing.

[Jeb Martin]

Not good.

[Martha Martin]

I don't savvy what your scheme is.

[Jeb Martin]

Scheme? Not mine.

[Martha Martin]

Well, your friend's scheme then.

[Jeb Martin]

You do what Tonto say. Well, start here. Dig in ground.

[Martha Martin]

What should we dig?

[Jeb Martin]

Make big holes and make other holes. Make plenty hole.

[Martha Martin]

Who's this? A comin in the wagon.

[Jeb Martin]

That friend.

[Lone Ranger]

The work started.

[Martha Martin]

I know that voice.

[Lone Ranger]

How's your son, Jeb, stranger?

[Martha Martin]

Thanks to you and your partner, the Injun. Billy's most well already.

[Lone Ranger]

Good.

[Martha Martin]

I. I come back like you said.

[Lone Ranger]

I know you did.

[Martha Martin]

I was just in time to hear the men talking about how you met up with them in camp and moved them away from where they was.

[Lone Ranger]

We haven't much Time to talk, Jeb. There's a lot of work to be done between now and daybreak.

[Martha Martin]

Good enough. I'm ready to work.

[Jeb Martin]

Big hole here.

[Lone Ranger]

The kegs are in the wagon tunnel.

[Jeb Martin]

That good?

[Lone Ranger]

After Ortega stated his claims, I talked with the sheriff and the United States Marshal.

[Jeb Martin]

You tell them schemes?

[Lone Ranger]

Yes, and they will help us.

[Jeb Martin]

Good.

[Lone Ranger]

Now get the other men started digging, and then you and I will place the kegs.

[Narrator]

The homesteaders labored with all their energy under the direction of the Lone Ranger. One pit after another was dug, and at daybreak, the holes extended from the dry bed of an old stream to a point where they met the river, which formed the boundary line to Ortega's land.

[Lone Ranger]

We're almost finished with this part of our work, Tato. You stay here and take care of things while I ride to see Ortega.

[Jeb Martin]

That's right.

[Lone Ranger]

And remember, at just the time we decided on.

[Jeb Martin]

Do your part, Tonto. Do.

[Martha Martin]

Hey, stranger.

[Lone Ranger]

Yes, Jeb?

[Martha Martin]

The boys are plumb wore out from working so steady. They ain't quitting, though.

[Lone Ranger]

They're not quitters.

[Martha Martin]

There's just one thing they crave to know.

[United States Marshal]

Yes?

[Martha Martin]

Just what's all this digging to do with getting land to settle on?

[Lone Ranger]

You'll see when Tyler gives you the word. Come to Ortega's home, Shooter. You'll not need to come shooting, Jeb. There'll be no gunplay here, Silver. When you come, come to claim your land and settle down.

[Tonto]

Sil.

[Narrator]

The masked man left the homesteaders and rode beyond the river toward the Ortega ranch house. His approach was noted by two mounted men, the sheriff and the United States Marshal.

[Sheriff]

There he comes, Marshall.

[United States Marshal]

Wonder if his scheme will work.

[Sheriff]

The least we can do is follow his instructions and find out. There he goes, cutting for the house. Let's get moving now. Get along.

[Ortega]

Come on, get on.

[Martha Martin]

Get up there.

[Ortega]

Come on.

[Tonto]

Get up.

[Ortega]

Oh, boy.

[Lone Ranger]

Stand where you are. Very well, Juan. Call your master Ortega.

[Ortega]

There is no need. I am here.

[Lone Ranger]

There's no use trying to persuade you to be fair, Ortega.

[Ortega]

What is my own?

[Lone Ranger]

I keep all the land between the river and the marked line, see?

[Ortega]

Now, you go from here and stay away.

[Lone Ranger]

You're not planning to make a grab for that gun, are you?

[Ortega]

No. Exactly what is.

[Lone Ranger]

Did you hear that explosion?

[Sheriff]

Earthquake?

[Ortega]

No, it could not be thunder.

[Lone Ranger]

It was a blast. Ortega, that will change everything around here. Many years ago, that river flowed through a different bed. The arroyo is quite a ways north of here, not far from the northern boundary of your land.

[Ortega]

What of that?

[Lone Ranger]

If the river happened to change its course, Ortega and Flow in its original bed, your land would be reduced to less than 1,000 acres.

[Ortega]

That could never happen.

[Lone Ranger]

Perhaps you're wrong.

[Ortega]

No, no. Since my father came here, the river has always been the same.

[Lone Ranger]

Nevertheless, the river is your boundary line. Your southern and western boundary. And if the river does change its course, all the land south of the old arroyo would no longer belong to you, Senor. Not even this house would be yours. Nor your stables or corral or your cultivated fields.

[Ortega]

You come here only to talk. I will not listen.

[Lone Ranger]

I'm not here to simply talk, Ortega. I'm here to show you your mistake.

[Ortega]

What you want here?

[Lone Ranger]

Looks like you're gonna lose some land.

[Ortega]

Ortega, this is all a trick. It is all talk.

[United States Marshal]

If you think it's just talk, ride over and see how the water's going.

[Lone Ranger]

Down in the river.

[Ortega]

Yeah.

[Sheriff]

We had word that the river has flown through a new course.

[Lone Ranger]

An old course, Sheriff. It's original bed.

[Sheriff]

Yeah, the old arroyo.

[Ortega]

I will not believe.

[Lone Ranger]

You'll have to believe when you see for yourself that blast was arranged by the pioneers who came to settle here.

[Ortega]

Socrates, you cannot do that sort of thing.

[Lone Ranger]

The land you own, the land you've declared before witnesses is yours, is bounded by the river and the marked line north of the river. Soon there will be less than a thousand acres there. The land is poor for crops and worse for grazing. This land is not yours. Now.

[Ortega]

Sheriff. Marshal, tell him he is wrong.

[Sheriff]

Tell him he ain't wrong, Ortega. He's dead. Right.

[United States Marshal]

What's more, you better vacate this house and get off land that ain't yours.

[Ortega]

It is mine.

[Lone Ranger]

It is only till the last of.

[United States Marshal]

The water runs through that riverbed.

[Ortega]

Ben, you're moving out.

[United States Marshal]

And there ain't a law court in the state of California would give you any claim to this land. Not when they see how your property is described in the deed.

[Ortega]

Sir. I am trick, huh?

[Lone Ranger]

Ortega, you're a selfish, unreasonable man. Of all the people who were here when California became one of the United States, you're the only landowner who hasn't come to terms with the government.

[Sheriff]

So you're going to pay for it.

[Lone Ranger]

Wait, Sheriff. If Ortega wants to keep his house, his stables and his other buildings, the land he's using for crops and grazing, and all the land he actually needs, perhaps he'd take a new deed in exchange for his old one.

[Sheriff]

Now make your choice and make it fast.

[Ortega]

I make my choice. I have no choice. I take what you will give me. I must be content.

[Lone Ranger]

You'll find, Ortega, that California will be fair with you downside more fair than.

[Sheriff]

You'Ve been with California.

[Ortega]

All right. Those others, let them have the land I do not use. Only let me keep my house in the land around it.

[United States Marshal]

Now you're talking sense. The dead rat. Your selfish hide. It took the Lone Ranger to make you talk sense.

[Ortega]

One question, senor. The mask. Yes, tell me. Did you know when you planned to change the river that my father did that years ago.

[Lone Ranger]

What do you mean?

[Ortega]

The land as it now is, is what was granted my father.

[Sheriff]

He.

[Ortega]

It was. He changed the river to run far to the south to gain many thousand acres of the land.

[Lone Ranger]

Yes, I knew.

[Sheriff]

Well, doggone it. So you got your land by a swindle in the first place.

[Tonto]

Come on there, Silver, old boy. There's trouble in the cattle country. Follow a signal us.

[Narrator]

The story you have just heard is a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger Incorporated.