Mine Claim Scheme

Originally Aired: May 2, 1938 The Lone Ranger #821, "Mine Claim Scheme," a suspicious land deal in the mining town of Bixby threatens to defraud honest prospectors of their fortunes. When miner Lem Purvis celebrates selling his supposedly worthless claim to eastern businessman Carter Dodson for two hundred dollars, the disguised Lone Ranger recognizes something is amiss. Assay clerk Tom Gordon suddenly announces he made a terrible mistake, revealing that Purvis's mine is actually worth twenty-five dollars a ton while another miner's claim is worthless. An enraged Purvis nearly shoots Gordon before the Lone Ranger intervenes, but suspicions run deep that Gordon deliberately switched the samples to benefit Dodson. Following Gordon to Dodson's quarters, the Lone Ranger and Tonto overhear a conversation that confirms their suspicions of a systematic scheme targeting the town's miners. With Gordon manipulating assay reports and Dodson swooping in to purchase valuable claims at bargain prices, the masked rider must expose this elaborate fraud before more honest prospectors lose their livelihoods to the unscrupulous pair.