Bad Water

Originally Aired: September 21, 1938The 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.