Originally Aired: March 3, 1939
The Lone Ranger #952, "Snake River Dam," a sinister plot threatens to erupt into violence between ranchers and the U.S. Army. Construction superintendent Butler and outlaw Flash Perry have devised an elaborate scheme to steal a $20,000 payroll. They've deliberately misled the local cattlemen into believing the completion of Snake River Dam will bring homesteaders who will take their land, when in reality the government plans to apportion the valley to the ranchers first, making them wealthy. By stirring up the ranchers to attack the dam, Butler and Perry plan to draw Captain Stanford's soldiers away from the incoming stage, leaving the payroll unguarded.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto are working to calm the angry ranchers gathering at Ed Green's place and uncover the truth behind the conspiracy. However, complications arise when U.S. Marshal Matt McLeod arrives searching for Flash Perry and becomes suspicious of the masked man himself. With the payroll due at six in the morning and tensions reaching a boiling point, the Lone Ranger must expose Butler's deception before the ranchers' misguided attack leads to bloodshed and allows the outlaws to make off with thousands of dollars.