The Secret Land

Originally Aired: July 1, 1938 The Lone Ranger #847, "The Secret Land," finds settlers lined up at the boundary of newly opened homestead territory, waiting for the cannon signal to stake their claims. Aaron Stewart and his wife Mary have made the long journey from the East, with Aaron planning to partner with Tom Granville to claim prime land Aaron scouted earlier. Mary warns her husband not to trust Granville, suspecting he still holds a grudge over her choosing Aaron years before. Her fears prove justified when Granville suddenly demands immediate payment on a two hundred dollar loan, seizing Aaron's horses when he cannot pay and leaving the couple stranded while claiming the choice land for himself. As desperate Aaron moves from wagon to wagon begging for help, his fellow settlers refuse to spare horses or assistance, each focused on their own claims in tomorrow's land rush. With Mary ill from the hard journey and no way to move their wagon, the Stewarts face being abandoned on the prairie while everyone else races for homesteads at dawn. The couple's dreams of a new life seem crushed by Granville's calculated betrayal.