The Raiders

Originally Aired: April 11, 1938The Lone Ranger #812, "The Raiders," a mysterious band of outlaws terrorizes the Southwest, burning ranches, stealing cattle, and leaving no survivors. When the Lone Ranger and Tonto spot flames rising from the Box X Ranch, they race to the scene and discover two badly wounded men: ranch owner Tom Holstead and Sheriff Burns. The lawmen are shocked to see a masked man and an Indian, fearing at first they're part of the outlaw gang, but the Lone Ranger quickly proves his intentions are noble. As he tends to their wounds, he reveals a disturbing pattern: this gang has struck multiple ranches at three-week intervals, moving systematically westward, and no one has ever found their trail or recovered the stolen cattle.The next day, the Lone Ranger shares his theory with Sheriff Burns after Tonto tracks the cattle trail to the railroad tracks. Using a sharp stone to diagram the attacks, the masked man demonstrates how the outlaws have been using trains to transport stolen livestock, explaining why they've remained undetected. With this knowledge, he predicts the next target will be the Bard Cummins Ranch. The sheriff is convinced but worried they lack enough men to fight the heavily armed outlaw army.