Reward Money

Originally Aired: April 13, 1938The Lone Ranger #813, "Reward Money," finds longtime partners Jake Caldwell and Lim Purdy facing a midnight intruder who steals their life savings and wounds Lim in the struggle. The wily Lim had anticipated the robbery that's been plaguing the area, cleverly spreading flour on their porch to capture a clear footprint. The distinctive boot print, unusually large, points to only two or three men in town who could wear such a size. Sheriff arrives to investigate and suspects Big Wally Burke, a lazy but good-natured man known more for drinking than honest work.The tension escalates when the scene shifts to Wally's home, where his surprised wife Mary watches him count a substantial pile of cash. Wally claims it's reward money for helping catch five killers over Pecos Way, given to him by a masked man at Flat Rock the previous night. Just as Wally prepares to take the money to the bank and promises his wife he's a changed man, the Sheriff arrives at their door. The evidence seems damning, but questions linger about Wally's story and whether the footprint will match his boots.