Originally Aired: August 19, 1938
The Lone Ranger #868, "Crooked Sheriff," finds the Bar X trail herd from Texas approaching the halfway point of its long journey when an Indian named Tondo warns trail boss Walt Benson to avoid Bighorn County. Tondo explains that a new sheriff named Chuck Barker has replaced the honest Jake Carter and is running a crooked operation, but the confident Benson dismisses the warning and continues on. Sure enough, Sheriff Barker and county cattle inspector Martin Weaver soon arrive at the herd with a scheme to extort money from the drovers.
Barker and Weaver claim they must inspect the Texas cattle for fever before allowing them to pass through the county, threatening delays of a month or more that would devastate the Bar X outfit's schedule and profits. As the trail crew faces this corrupt shakedown, the situation grows increasingly tense. The masked rider and his faithful companion Tonto must find a way to expose the crooked sheriff's operation and help the honest cattlemen complete their journey without paying tribute to these fraudulent lawmen.