The Deserter

Originally Aired: October 26, 1938The Lone Ranger #897, "The Deserter," finds the masked rider and Tonto in the midst of a fierce winter blizzard, searching for a band of deserters led by the outlaw Max Daly. When young soldier Jerry Crane abandons his post at the fort and flees with the garrison's $3,000 payroll, a sergeant and his men track him to his mother's house. Despite her desperate attempts to protect her son, Jerry escapes through a window and disappears into the deadly storm. The Lone Ranger and Tonto discover Jerry half-frozen in a snowdrift and bring him back to their cave to recover.As Jerry regains his strength by the campfire, he begins to tell his story to his rescuers. He admits he was tempted by the money and overwhelmed by the harsh conditions of frontier military life—the bitter cold, constant danger from hostile Indians, and relentless orders from superiors safe inside the fort. Now Jerry must confront whether he's truly a coward or if there's still a chance for redemption before he's captured and faces a firing squad for desertion and theft.