Deputy To Be

Originally Aired: November 14, 1938 The Lone Ranger #905, "Deputy To Be," young Bob Bryan desperately approaches Sheriff Zeke Fuller and his deputy Sandy Dunlap with crucial information about the whereabouts of the notorious Nick Gage gang. The thin, hollow-cheeked teenager offers to reveal the outlaws' hideout near Muddy Creek in exchange for reward money and a chance to become a deputy. His family is struggling, with barely enough to eat, and Bob sees this as his opportunity to help. However, the sheriff and the men at the cafe mock him mercilessly, refusing to take him seriously and dismissing him as a scared kid trying to act important. After being humiliated and turned away, Bob encounters Tonto, who treats him with the respect he was denied by the townsmen. Tonto brings Bob back to camp where the Lone Ranger listens to his story with genuine interest. Meanwhile, the greedy Sheriff Fuller, suspecting the boy might be telling the truth after all, secretly sends Deputy Dunlap to investigate, planning to claim the reward money for themselves and cheat Bob out of what he rightfully deserves.