“He awakes, Kemo Sabe!”

Joe slowly opened his eyes and looked into an unfamiliar face.  The woods around him were shrouded in the darkness of night, but the full moon shone brightly through the trees.

‘No,’ the child frowned, thinking some more, ‘I’ve seen him before.’

“Wait,” Joe’s eyes grew wide, “You’re Tonto!”

The man smiled at the child, his dark eyes bright.  “You sleep long, little brave.”

Joe allowed the man in buckskin clothing to help him to his feet.  Joe was surprised to see that he was no longer wearing his pajamas.  Instead, he had on jeans, cowboy boots and a blue checkered shirt.

He followed the man, taking in the woods all around them.  This was the woods behind his house, Joe realized. ‘How’d I get here?’

Joe wasn’t watching where he was going and crashed right into Tonto when the man stopped.  Joe looked past the tall Native American and saw a man with a pale blue shirt, red bandana, white cowboy hat and a black mask. He was studying a piece of paper.

“The Lone Ranger!” Joe whispered excitedly, staring in disbelief.

The Lone Ranger looked up from the paper and tipped his hat to Joe. “Glad to have you with us, partner.  We’re going to need your help!”

“You make good plan, Kemo Sabe?” Tonto asked the masked man.

“Yes, my friend,” the Lone Ranger replied. “We need to get to the fort. If the Rattlesnake Gang has already attacked the fort, we’ll have to sneak inside and free the prisoners.”

“Where your horse, little brave?” Tonto questioned Joe.

“I don’t have a horse,” Joe answered helplessly.  “I don’t even know what’s goin’ on.  I’m supposed to be at home restin’ ‘cause I had my tonsils out.”

The Lone Ranger and Tonto glanced questioningly at each other. 

“Tonto and I can probably take on the Rattlesnake Gang ourselves,” the Lone Ranger stated, “but we could use your help, if you’re willing.”

Joe felt like he’d been sucked into one of the old shows he’d been watching all morning.  He shrugged his shoulders.  He might not understand what was happening, but he wasn’t going to pass up a chance to be on an adventure with the Lone Ranger and Tonto.

“I’m in,” Joe said with a firm nod. “But, I still don’t have a horse.”

“You can ride with me on Silver,” the Lone Ranger smiled.

Joe looked up with awe at the beautiful white horse. “Yes!” Joe shouted, pumping his fist in the air.  “Let’s ride!”

In minutes, the trio was mounted up and dashing through the woods toward the fort.  Joe was amazed as he saw a bridge constructed across the creek.

Joe had no idea where his brother and friends got their supplies, but the bridge had a planked floor and sturdy rails on both sides. 

“Wow! Frank, Tony and Chet really did a super job on the bridge,” Joe stated, pointing to the structure.  “The fort should be just past those pine trees on the other side.”

The Lone Ranger led the way across the bridge with Tonto close behind.  They stopped by the tall pines and dismounted.

“We’ll approach the fort on foot,” The masked man instructed, “so the gang doesn’t hear us coming. The darkness will hide our approach.”

“Good idea,” Joe agreed, nodding his head.

The Lone Ranger, Tonto and Joe snuck through the trees and saw the fort a few yards away.  Joe frowned as he glanced at the structure as it reflected in the moonlight.  It sure looked different than he remembered.

“It’s obvious that the fort was still under construction when the Rattlesnake Gang attacked,” the Lone Ranger said, rubbing his cleft chin with his gloved hand.

“Made attack too easy for Rattlesnake Gang,” Tonto observed, nodding his head. 

“We’ve got to get inside and see what is going on,” the Lone Ranger informed them.  “But it will be a dangerous and difficult job.”

“I go, Kemo Sabe!” Tonto bravely volunteered.

“Thank you, old friend,” the Lone Ranger patted Tonto’s shoulder, “but we are both too big for the job.” He looked over at Joe.

“Y-you want m-me to g-go in there? In t-the d-dark?”

“You are small enough to squeeze through those loose boards on the side of the fort,” the masked man explained.  “Just scout out the situation, then come back and tell us what’s going on inside.  Then we can plan our attack.”

Joe glanced at the fort, and then back at the Lone Ranger.  He took a deep breath and stood up.  “Okay, I’ll do it!”

“Be careful and be very quiet, partner,” the Lone Ranger instructed.

“I wait right outside,” Tonto added.  “Let us go now.”

Joe and Tonto moved silently through the shrubs and small trees.  Soon they had their backs pressed firmly against the wall of the fort.  Joe was glad they hadn’t been spotted.

“It’s a good thing we didn’t build the lookout tower yet,” Joe whispered to Tonto.

“You go now, little brave,” Tonto encouraged the boy. “I wait here for you.”

Joe took another deep breath.  He turned and moved his small body parallel with the loose board.  He waited and listened for any sound on the other side.  Hearing nothing, he squeezed through the narrow opening as Tonto pushed the boards aside for him.

Inside, Joe couldn’t believe his eyes.  By the light of several lanterns hung on posts, he saw several buildings and a corral with horses.  He crawled behind a rain barrel and rubbed his eyes.

The fort couldn’t be this big inside! It was impossible! Yet, when he opened his eyes again, it was still all there, just like before.

He was about to scout a little further, when something caught his eye.  Just across from him was a small shed-like building with bars in the window.  Leaning through the bars was none other than his brother, Frank!