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Old Time Radio Westerns
The Colonel’s Strike | The Lone Ranger (03-07-51)
00:25:09
Original Air Date: March 07, 1951Host: Andrew RhynesShow: The Lone RangerPhone: (707) 98 OTRDW (6-8739) Stars:• Brace Beemer (Lone Ranger)• John Todd (Tonto) Writer:• Fran Striker Producer:• George W. Trendle Music:• Ben Bonnell Exit music from: Roundu...
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I'm your host Andrew Rines and I'm excited to bring you another episode absolutely free. This is one of over 80 episodes released monthly for your enjoyment. Now let's get into this episode. A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and off hearty Hio Silver the Lone Ranger. Before this exciting adventure, a word from our sponsor, General Mills, makers of Cheerios, the ready to eat oat cereal that gives you go power and Wheaties, the breakfast of champions. Present by special recording, the Lone Ranger. All over the country in every direction. How you, how you doing? Is a question. And here's what laughs happy people have to say. Okay, come and get it. This is the Lone Ranger telling you that's a mighty popular call out here in the west at roundup time. You'll hear it on many a ranch at the first streaks of dawn. And you should see those long legged cowboys roll out of the blankets and head for the chuck wagon. They've got a full back breaking day in the saddle ahead of them and they know what they need. A good substantial breakfast. One that will stick to their ribs and really keep them feeling and doing okay. Take a tip from the folks out West. With his faithful Indian companion, Toto, the daring and resourceful mask rider of the plains 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 hoofbeats of the great horse Silver. The Lone Ranger rides again. Come on Silver, let's go. Big foe are you? Silver? Away. When the Lone Ranger returned to his camp after a visit with a warden of the state penitentiary, he showed Tonto the picture of a bearded cowboy. This man died in prison the other night. But before he died he made a full confession. You've heard of the tarantula? Of course. Him worst outlaw in New Mexico territory. This feller? Not him. No. This man's name was Tex Rafferty. But there's a connection. About three months ago he took part in a holdup with three of the tarantulas men. He double crossed them. They were killed and he escaped with all the money. The tarantula sworn to get even. That gives me an idea. What you mean. Study his picture. Tano. Could you make me look like him? Maybe so. You have to grow beard. I'll have plenty of time to grow one on the way to the territory. That's right. This dangerous thing you try, Kimasabe the tarantula is making life dangerous for everyone in the southwest. Help me make you look like Tex. The Lone Ranger's beard was grown by the time they reached the territory. And Tottle worked a miracle of transformation in his appearance. And what you do now? We'll travel south slowly. I let myself be seen in every town we pass through. The next move is up to the tarantula. The following day, the Lone Ranger rode into town for supplies as Totto made camp on a wooded ridge above a winding creek. When the Lone Ranger returned from town, he found Toto washing out a pan of gravel on the shores of the stream. Prospecting. Toto. Ah, you look. Why, there are at least 2 ounces there. It's plenty good. Kimasabi me see two men ride up one of them fine nugget. Then them wash out gravel, find more gold. It made a strike. But this land not belong to them. Them cowboys bar g brand on horses that branch to north. I wonder who the land does belong to. Them say Colonel. But them go to Boss Abaardi and tell him to buy homestead for $200. Them try cheat Colonel. I see. How long ago did they leave here? Maybe half hour. Don't worry. We won't let the Colonel be cheated. I'll tell him how valuable his land is. And I think we'll stay in this district for a while. Toto. The news of a gold strike might attract the tarantula. Colonel Ash had lost everything during the war. And so he had come west with his grandson Teddy, whom he called the Corporal and Sergeant Crosby, who had been his orderly when they first settled on the homestead. The colonel and the sergeant had marked out the outlines of a cabin and then had dug down in the ground for three feet. Around the excavation, they had built three foot walls of sod and roofed the cabin with timbers and more sod. Since then, they had built a small barn and stables. But it made no move toward replacing the sod dugout with a more substantial building. As Mike Grady, the owner of the bar G. Drew rein in front of the door, his lips curled in scorn, he threw back the heavy canvas that covered the doorway. Anybody home? Corporal and the sergeant are out in the barn and as you see, are preparing our evening repast. I intend to. I have a proposition, Colonel. I'd like to buy your 40 acres. Really, Mr. Grady? Well, I don't wish to sell. As a matter of fact, I'm not in any position to sell. One must homestead for five years, you know. I don't get the deeds of the land for another two weeks. A promise to sell will be good enough. I've drawn up a paper. I'm not interested, sir. Well, let me finish. I give you $200. That's hardly generous. What's more, I'll give you six mares. Blooded stock. You can pick them out for yourself. Six mares? The chestnut with the blaze, the black. Any six you choose. That is handsome, sir. I thought it might appeal to you. Now all you have to do is sign. Colonel Script. Come on outside. I want to show you the most wonderful horse you ever saw. What's he? Scorpion. Run along, Teddy. The colonel's seen my horse. Oh, I'm not talking about that walleye bronc, you. This is a real horse. And whose is it? Belongs to a big Texan who just rode up. Come on, Colonel. Here's the pen, Colonel. Come on. Yes, you were, Corporal. You can be court martialed for laying hands on your superior officer. Will you see him there? Magnificent Corporal, I told you, I am Colonel Ashland, sir. I don't believe I've had the. You're not. Just call me Tex. Colonel, this is a magnificent animal. There's something about his head that reminds me of General Lee's famous traveler. Your horse is much larger, of course. Beautiful confirmation. What can I do for you, Dicks? Well, sir, I have a guilty conscience. I've been trespassing on your land. Trespassing? I was watering silver down at the creek. That's perfectly all right, sir. And the gravel on the bank interested me. I washed out some of it. This. This gold dust belongs to you. Gold dust? Let me see. Yeah. Hey, Sarge, come here. Texas. Found some gold down by the creek. I'm ready. You can see for yourself in this bandana. Gold dust from our creek naturally belongs to you, Colonel. So I just thought I'd hand it over and be on my way. This year's the most honest man I've ever met in my life. This is the. And you, Mr. Grady, are the greatest scoundrel. Yeah. Your last remark, sir, convinces me that you knew there was gold in Rocky Creek when you tried to buy my property. You'd have sold two if this cow folk hadn't come along. You're lucky, Colonel, but you're just as much of a fool as he is. And a fool and his gold are soon parted. Texas. This gold dust belongs to you, of course. But I can hardly believe. Colonel, I'd like to stay around here for a little while. You're welcome. Takes your friend, Mr. Grady. He thinks an honest man is a fool. May have to be taught that honesty is the best policy. Ruf and Al were waiting for Mike when he returned to the Bar G Ranch. Oh, oh, oh. Easy, boy. Come on inside. Anybody see you two down for crick when you found the nugget? No. You sure? Absolutely, boss. Well, then it was just bad luck. What was? I was ready to close the deal. Six mares clinched it. I dipped a pen in the ink and was holding it out to the colonel and. Ah. What are you doing with that book you took out of the desk, boss? Looking up the homestead law. No chance of buying the land cheap now. May not have to buy it. That's the way I thought the law read land must be lived on and worked for five years before the homesteader gets title. Oh, you knew that. Homestead rights cannot be assigned or bequeathed in case of death. The land reverts to the public domain. Mm. That's what I thought. Boys, it's two weeks before the colonel gets his title. And if he should die before the two weeks are up, we'll be the first to know it. I'll file my claim to the land as soon as he's dead. We'll continue our Lone Ranger adventure in just a moment. Cowboy Tom is a boy of six. He knows all kinds of cowboy tricks. He can rope as because he knows he's got go power from Cheerios. Yes, he's got go power. There he goes. He's feeling his Cheerios. Cheerios. Cheerios. You bet. Cheerios. The oat cereal that needs no cooking. Every delicious spoonful of Cheerios and milk is real muscle building food. Each spoonful contains vitamins, minerals and proteins your body needs. Yes, the good things in a Cheerios breakfast do good things for your body. Help you have healthy nerves, good red blood, strong bones and muscles. And besides giving you go power, Cheerios is downright wonderful tasting. That toasted oat flavor is really something. And when you add milk and your favorite fruit, say some sliced bananas, you're in for a delicious breakfast treat. Get the whole family off to a good start every morning with Cheerios. Then you'll hear people say he's feeling his Cheerios. Now to continue After Mike Grady's unsuccessful attempt to buy the Colonel's homestead, the Lone Ranger stayed on and showed the colonel, the sergeant, and the corporal how to pan gold. Farming was forgotten, and each day, as they added to their store of dust, they dreamed of a ranch. Each night they went to bed as soon as supper had been eaten, the Colonel in the dugout, the sergeant and the Corporal in the barn. And the Lone Ranger, used to sleeping in the open, spread his blankets on the low ridge between the farm buildings and the creek. A week passed. It was the dark of the moon, and shortly after midnight Silver whinnied sharply. The Lone Ranger stirred but didn't wake. Silver trotted to his side, lowered his head and pushed him gently with his nose. What is it, Silver? Silver was looking toward the barn. There was only the light of the stars, but the Lone Ranger could make out two shadowy figures. He pulled on his boots and started down the slope. The figures were heading for the dugout now. Who's there? Come on back to the horses. Before the Lone Ranger reached the bottom of the slope, the two men had disappeared around the barn and he heard their horses galloping away. During the next week, the Lone Ranger and Tottle watched the bargee night and day. Whenever Grady or any of his men headed south toward the Colonel's homestead, they were followed. But none of them went beyond the fence that separated the two properties. Then, at dusk on the day before, the colonel would obtain clear title to his land, there was a change in the weather. Purple clouds blotted out the setting sun and spread across the sky. Darkness descended on the rangeland and thunder rumbled in the west. It began to rain, and the Lone Ranger and Toto put on their slickers as they rode close to the Bar G ranch buildings. They stopped close to the corral and watched the blurred lights in the ranch house and the bunkhouse, listening for any sound. An hour passed. Three men came out of the ranch house. They went to the corral and saddled up. They rode to the south, and the Lone Ranger and Tottle followed them. The cattle on the south range were milling, made spooky by the storm. Mike, Ruth and Al rode through the herd and onto the fence. First we pull down a section of the fence. Then we drive the herd through the break and stampede them across the colonel's land. Drive them between the barn and the stables and onto the sod dugout on and over it. We'll smash it to the ground with that colonel inside. Yeah. Won't take much to make these pitters stampede, but after they get moving, we'll have a tough time controlling them. I only got one good arm groove and I'll ride the point, Al. All you have to do is keep them on the pride. Yeah. Oh. Tear down this section of fence here. As the rain poured down on them, the three men wrenched loose the rails of the fence until there was a sizable break. Then they remounted and started to round up the herd. Finally, Mike gave the signal and they drove the cattle toward the opening in the fence. The steers, terrified by the thunder and the belching six guns of the men, began to run faster and faster. They poured through the break in the fence and onto the Colonel's property. Mike and Ruth rode close to the leaders. Keep him headed straight, driving through the opening between the burn and the stable. Right when the colonel's farm buildings loomed ahead, the old moss horn in the front of the herd tried to turn aside. Ruth and Mike refused to let him. Then he saw the open space between the barn and the stables and ran toward it. He thundered past the buildings. A little way beyond, the ground rose sharply. A three foot bank, the wall of the sod dugout. The mosshorn scrambled up it and the steers directly behind him followed blindly. The timbers of the roof backed beneath their weight and they bawled in terror as the footing gave way. But a second later, they recovered themselves and charged on and up out of what was now only a hole in the ground. It was still raining the next morning when Ruth and Al pulled up in the woods to the east of the Colonel's barn and stables. Hey, Al. Who's that coming out of the barn? Where? Climbing into the surrey. Text. Probably it is in Texas. A colonel. You're right. He's alive. How? He couldn't have been in the sod house last night. He gets to town, Silas will hand him the deed. The land will be his. We gotta stop him. There they go. His homie Sarge and the boy with him. That curve in the trail beyond the creek. Come on. Get him. Get him. Get him. That was at 7 o' clock. At 9, Silas Jones, the Land Commissioner, strolled down the main street of the town and found Mike Grady waiting for him on the steps of the land office. Morning, Mike. We keep bankers hours, don't you? Just thought I'd wait for the rain to stop. What's on your mind? On a file of homestead claims. Who? Yep. Where's the form do I have to fill out? Right here. But Mike, the man has to live on homestead land. Yes, I know the law. Just give me the forms. Yeah. Later, the Lone Ranger stepped out of the sheriff's office. T was waiting for him, standing beside Silver and Scout Grady. Land office. Good. He's a sheriff now. Grady's at the land office. Sheriff. Let's go after him. Texas. When the sheriff from the Lone Ranger entered the land office, Silas was inspecting Mike Grady's application for a homestead. Hey, you made a mistake. Land you describe here belongs to the Colonel. I've got the deed to it all made out. He's calling for it today. Wrong. Hello, Sheriff. Hello, Tex. Howdy. Howdy, Silas. You come here to see me? I know the Colonel's a little busy, Silas. He asked me to pick up the deed void land. Won't you give it to him, Silas? I can, but the Colonel must pick it up in person. Tex, that's impossible. Isn't it, Tex? Why is it impossible? Did the Colonel sleep in his side house last night? Yes, he did. That's why you'd better explain. I intend for it to the sheriff. Well, it was a terrible thing, Sheriff. A herd of my steers got spooky last night during the storm. They broke through the fence and stampeded across the Colonel's land. We tried to turn them aside, but we couldn't. They crushed the Colonel's sod house right down into the ground and him inside it. You know how it was built? The walls made of sod only a few feet above the level of the ground. Galleys was awful. Your herd killed the Colonel and you come here this morning to file a claim on his land. My right, isn't it? He died last night at 10 o' clock. The land wasn't his until today. There's my application filed. Tell the sheriff why you want the land. That's my business. You're not the first man who's tried to commit murder for gold. Right? Why, there's no question of murder. You can't accuse me of that. Ruth and Al testify to what happened. I already have their testimony. What? Mike, the colonel didn't die last night. Well, he must have. He watched the stampede from the high ground above the creek. He slept in the sod house. Tex saw you heard coming and got him out of there in time. This morning the colonel started out for town with the sergeant and the corporal. They were ambushed on the way by. By your men, Ruth and L. Now, look, I don't know anything about it. If they killed the colonel. Look out the window, Mike. Colonel, Surrey, the sergeant, the corporal and the colonel. Then they didn't. No, Mike, he didn't let me finish. The ambush wasn't a success. When RUF and Al stopped the surrey texting, an Indian friend of his closed in from behind and took him prisoner. Ruth and Al are in jail, but they got no orders from me. Not today, perhaps. But according to their testimony, last night was different. They lie. I'll put you in the cell next to them. You can argue it out through the bars. Yes. Good morning, colonel. Good morning, Chair. If you'll stand aside, please. I'm taking Mike to jail. Get moving. There. See? It's all over. Yes, colonel. We delivered Ruf and Al to the sheriff and they made a full confession. Trying to put all the blame on Mike, of course. All right, Sidewinder. Trying to murder you, colonel. A fool Texan gold on your land. That's right. Well, you step right over here and I'll give you the paper that says it all belongs to you. I'll be saying goodbye, Colonel, I. I wish you would stay and share good fortune. Take. Please. Tick. No, Terry. Carlo's waiting for me, and it's time that we were on our way. Let me shake hands with you, colonel. I'm deeply indebted, sir. And Teddy. Gosh. Check, sergeant. Goodbye. Goodbye and good luck. Goodbye. Goodbye. Over here, colonel. Oy. Yes, Shannon. Why wouldn't Check stay with us, Garage? It's hard to figure out. Unless. No, that can't do, eh? Tex is just a cowboy who likes to keep on the move. He does call his horse Silver, and from the way he's helped us out, it's a crazy idea for what he. You can go ahead and laugh, corporal, but I was thinking that if Tex wore a mask, why. Why, I'd swear he was the Lone Ranger. Sam, The Lone Ranger, a copyrighted feature of the Lone Ranger, Incorporated, is produced by Trendall, Campbell, Muir Incorporated. The part of the Lone Ranger is played by Brace Beamer, your announcer, Fred Foy. Listen to the Lone Ranger brought to you by Special Recording Mondays through Fridays at this same time. This has been a presentation of otrwesterns.com and we hope you enjoyed. Please take some time to like and rate this episode within your favorite podcast application. Follow us on Facebook by going to otrwesterns.com Facebook and subscribe to our YouTube channel by going to otrwesterns.Com YouTube become one of our ranch hands and unlock some exclusive content. We want to thank our most recent ranch hands Steve Technogod and Craig who joined us recently. 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