About this episode
Originally Aired: January 20, 1939 The Lone Ranger #934, "Law Of The Custom," the masked rider arrives at a critical moment in cattle country, where rancher Eric Badger faces financial ruin. When the government opens prime grazing land to homesteaders, Badger's ranch is threatened since he only holds title to a fraction of the range he actually uses. Enter Dirk Hawkins, a smooth-talking stranger who offers a solution: his men will file claims on the valuable homesteads with the best water holes, then turn them over to Badger for a price. Despite warnings from his foreman Scotty Campbell about the influx of strangers in town, Badger signs the agreement, seeing no other way to save his cattle operation. The Lone Ranger and Tonto arrive just as Hawkins and his associate Slim Dykman ride away from Badger's ranch. The masked man reveals a shocking truth: Dirk Hawkins is no ruined rancher from the Dakotas, but a dangerous outlaw the Lone Ranger has been trailing across the West. Badger refuses to believe the accusation, insisting his bargain is legitimate. As the homestead filing proceeds and Badger prepares to celebrate what he believes is his salvation, the stage is set for a confrontation between frontier justice and deception.
From Tonto: Tales of the Lone Ranger by OTRPODS. Visit the show’s website.