 The challenge of the Yukon It's King swiftest and strongest lead dog of the North country Blazing the trail for Sergeant Preston of the Northwest mounted police in his relentless pursuit of lawbreakers Gold gold discovered in the Yukon a stampede to the Klondike in the greedy race for riches Now back to the days of the gold rush when sergeant Preston and his wonder dog King Battle through storm and snow to preserve law and order as they met the challenge of the Yukon Only about a half hour of daylight was left of the winter day in the Yukon When two men stood beside the trail from Dawson One of them was short and broad with a black mustache and straight black hair that fell down over his forehead from under his park of hood His partner was younger and slimmer. I'll handle the chute and slim You better get down the trail away since stop the dog see you think you'll get here soon Frisco Maybe you camp on the way and won't try to get to the male cabin tonight. You should be here any minute now Our dog team ain't too good. Don't you think we'd better take the male team? They got the best dogs in the territory outside of the police and they know the dogs and be one sure way to get caught Now we forget the male team. We just take the gold and get away fast Yeah, it sounds like a dog team now Go on get down the trail and stop the team after I shoot sure Frisco. Good luck. It's just enough daylight left Can't miss I got him slim stop that team I'll start unpacking the gold you get a dog team and sleight over here You think you killed him Frisco couldn't miss I stepped right out let him have it right in the chest Maybe maybe you ought to hide the body. They haven't got time to fool around get those dogs. I'll tell you Nobody will be on this trail anymore tonight. The wolves will get to him before morning. Let's get that gold and get out of here Sergeant Preston had received word from headquarters to meet the male team that was coming down from Dawson City The male cabins were stationed at 20 mile intervals and the Monty planned to meet the mailman at the cabin near Beaver Creek The early darkness was closing in as the sergeant approached it And he noticed smoke coming out of the chimney though There was no sign of the male team were sled as he stopped his team the cabin door open No, it isn't how are you Jim Yes, I know he is I'm supposed to meet him here I got orders to accompany him as far as South Kirk this trip I'll get the dogs fed and better down Hey, that sounds like Abe's team Yeah, here they come But Abe isn't with it. Those dogs are coming in with themselves You're right, Sergeant. Oh there. Oh, you're husband. Oh now, good boy, move What do you suppose to have, Abe? Must have had an accident or something. Something's happened to him, all right The mail's been robbed. Rob. Look at the sled. All the lichens cut. You're right You better backtrack right away and try and find Abe. I'll take my team. The mail team will stay here at the cabin. Come on, Abe Sorry, King, you'll have to wait till later for your supper. Up front, fella I'm King! I'm New Huskies! Sergeant Preston and Jim went back along the trail over which the mail team had come Even though darkness had fallen and the moon had not yet risen King ran free of the harness ahead of the team Jim riding on the sled called back to the mavi who rode the runners behind him Hey, it's so dark we'll never find Abe. Even if they didn't hide his body. We'll find him. All right We must. Master King, I'm New Huskies You've got a mighty fine dog team here, Sergeant. I've never seen a faster one. I doubt you could find a better one in the Yukon territory What's wrong, King? Hello? Oh, you Huskies. What up? Bring that lantern, Jim. King's found something. Must be Abe I hope so Yes There's a body lying there beside the trail You're right, Jim. And tracks of two men I'll get this lantern a little bit Good work, old boy Abe Abe Is it good, Sergeant? Now he's still breathing. He's unconscious Shine that lantern over here, please, Jim Yeah He lost a lot of blood Shot through the chest, but it must have missed his lungs, or he'd be dead by now Now there's nothing we can do for him here We'd better get back to the cabin as soon as possible Oh, Abe I'll bring the sled up here beside him and we'll wrap him in blankets His hands and feet have frostbitten We'll have to work fast to save his life Back in the mail cabin, Sergeant Preston and Jim worked tirelessly to save Abe's life Most of the night had passed before the mailman regained consciousness He's opening his eyes Abe, Abe You're safe, Abe. You're safe here on the cabin Sergeant Preston Hand me that brandy, Jim Here Take a swallow to save Easy, easy, man You were shot just below the shoulder, but you're going to live Yeah, it's a good thing we got you back here in time One foot and both your hands were frostbitten, but we saved them Oh, how did you find me? Your team came straight to the mail cabin with arches, so we knew something had happened to you I was held up They took the gold you were carrying Can you remember what happened at all? Not much, Sergeant I was coming along the trail All of a sudden, a man stepped out in front of me From behind a rock with a gun That's all I remember I guess they thought they killed you They did come awful close But you got to look at the man who shot you, Abe Well, he was shot and brought His face, it was square like the rest of his body He had a black mustache And I remember his hair black and straight Coming down on his forehead from under his parka hood Straight black hair, black mustache And he's short and broad He looked about middle age, I think That's a fairly accurate description, Abe I hope I'm not just imagining it No, I'm sure you're not Well, now you've done enough talking Better try and get some sleep Well, thanks, Sergeant, for everything That's all right, Abe Well, what are you going to do, Sergeant? You're pretty tired I've only got a few hours of sleep I'll start early in the morning I may be able to pick up the trail Well, there's no sign of snow tonight The tracks will be covered Unless they have a fast dog team I can probably catch them You think they'd go back to Dawson? I'll be able to tell which way they went when I looked at the trail over tomorrow They must be feeling pretty safe right now I suppose I thought Abe's body wouldn't be found for a couple of days Providing the wolves didn't get there first If they did head for Dawson I'll send the description up there We have a telegraph station at Crease Crossing In case I don't catch up with them the bodies in Dawson will be looking for them anyway I'm sure glad the dog's net mail team came straight to the cabin here Yes, it was a lucky thing for Abe Well, Jim, we'd better get some sleep I'm going to start out before dawn At one point of the route to Dawson the trail led over a high ridge of hills On each side, the trail zigzagged back and forth, like a huge letter Z from the top of the ridge to the bottom Sergeant Preston had not spared his dog team after picking up the trail of Frisco and Slim before dawn As he topped the ridge and started down daylight was fading and the Monty planned to camp at the base of the hill But someone else had made the same plan and the Sergeant Preston drove his team along the middle trail on the hill that paralleled its base He heard the sharp barks of a dog team below him Sergeant Preston stopped his team and with King beside him peered over the ledge at two men preparing to camp at the base of the ridge below There they are, King They caught up with them Those are the men we're after Quick, King! Just at that moment the rock on which the Monty and Dawson were standing gave way and Sergeant Preston and King went headlong down the slope in a shower of rock and snow Slim and Frisco, preparing to camp down below looked up in alarm Hey, what's that? Look out! I thought it was an avalanche I guess it was just a piece of rock broke loose This ain't too good a place to camp, Frisco Look there in the snow There's a man lying there There's a dog That's right He must have fallen over the edge of the trail when the rock gave way I think we better get up there and see if he's hurt He's not moving Now we don't want anyone to see us remember, they might connect us with a male robbery He's probably seen us down here anyway if he looked over the edge of the trail Yeah Maybe that's how he happened to fall What? You mean he might have been following us? I wonder But nobody could be after us, Frisco We killed that male man Nobody could have found his body till the next day Even if he wasn't following us, he must have seen us down here and could tell somebody I think we better get up there on the slope and see if he's alive Come on This is going to be a steep climb What if he is alive? If he's alive, we're going to see to it that he won't tell anyone that he saw us If he's hurt and can't move, he'll probably freeze to death His dog wasn't hurt Look, he's standing there beside him The man's arm just moved He isn't dead? Why are you picking up that rock? I don't think that dog's dangerous This rock isn't for the dog We can finish off the man with a clout on the head Wouldn't it be simpler to just shoot him? Ah, someone's live to find a body It's got to look like an accident His head is bashed in with a rock and he did it, falling down the slope Yeah, that's right A shot might attract someone on a trail That snow almost buried him, didn't it? Yeah Say, that's a good looking dog We'll be able to use him on our team The man's unconscious Must have hit his head when he fell As the two men approached from the base of the hill King suddenly got their scent and his muscles tensed as he recognized it as the man whose trail they had been following He sensed danger but he knew that Sergeant Preston needed help and he watched the men closely a deep, anxious whine in his throat Hey, Frisco, that's a pretty big dog Ain't you pretty big? You don't know what I'm gonna do One crack on the head of this rock will do it Frisco had not counted on the speed and intelligence of King As he raised the rock over the mountain's head the great dog sprang at him and Dog and Man rolled down the slope Get away! Stop him! Get off me! I'm coming, Frisco! King let go of Frisco as he heard Slim's footsteps coming toward him and turned on the other man, ready to spring Get away from me! Slim ran down the slope King watched while the two men ran and fell headlong down the slope Then the big dog went back to his vigil beside his master as Slim and Frisco picked themselves up at the base of the hill There's a dog coming No, he went back to his master Are you hurt? No, my bark is all it saved me and that curts are a big hunk on him Maybe we better go back and shoot him It's the only way we can finish the man off We want this to look like an accident, not a murder Let's get away from here fast If the man's unconscious he'll probably freeze before anyone finds him and he'll keep going all night and get as far away as possible We should get to Dawson in four days As Slim and Frisco's dog team faded out of sight King lay close to Sergeant Preston He whined anxiously as he saw the muddy stir and barked his delight when he heard Preston's voice King, King old fella I'll be all right in a minute, old boy Come on, my head I've buried in this snow We took quite a tumble, haven't we, boy? I guess I twisted my ankle too because when we were trailing they've gone, I wonder What's that you have, King? Bring it here, fella Give it to me, boy A piece of fur torn from a parka and the snow around here is disturbed I wish you could tell me what happened, King Come on up on the trail, King Hello Can you help me? Yes, that's my team Would you bring it down around the trail? I'm hurt Thanks I'll be able to get down this slope, I think Well, King, this is a little luck, now if I can hang on to your harness I can get down to the bottom of this hill You made good time I'm glad you came along You fall over side of hill, no? Yes, I was standing on a rock and it came loose I'm Sergeant Preston Northwest Mountain Police Sergeant Preston, I'm here about you Me? I'm Jules Blobert I don't know when I've been so glad to see anybody, Jules You, you are hurt Well, my ankle's twisted and I got a bad knock on the head That is a long fall, you fall Me, I see your dog team up on trail I hear this dog bark down below King fell down the slope with me, but he wasn't heard I will take you to Crease Crossing She's not so far from here I'd like to get to Crease Crossing as soon as possible I want to send a message to headquarters in Dawson It was almost a week later that Sleman Frisco arrived in Dawson City Frisco sat back in a corner of the Gold Horseshoe Bar waiting for Slim and listening to a shabby-looking man at the next table as they talked to one of the waiters Oh no, my luck she's very bad This claim I got, there is not enough gold to put in my tool Well, I'm sorry, Andre, I'd like to help you out, but I got orders not to give you any more credit This is your last drink of the Gold Horseshoe until you can pay for it Then I try to make it last a long time Almost couldn't find you back in this corner Frisco, did you buy the supplies? Yeah, but I got bad news Huh? We got to get out of here fast What's wrong? There's a poster up with your description on it What, wanted for robbing the males How could they get my description? I got the story listening to the post office clerk telling another man about it Seems the mailman wasn't killed and the Mountie found him and saved his life and he described you as the man who shot him But I don't see how he could have lived I shot point blank at him, I couldn't have missed He got one good look at you before you dropped him What does the poster say? It says you're a little over 5 feet you're broad and have straight black hair and you're between 35 and 40 years old Well, a rotten look I'm worried now about the man who fell down that slope Maybe he was a Mountie trailing us or something He was half buried in the snow All we could see was his fur parka The reason I'm wondering about it is because people were saying something about a Sergeant Preston getting on the case They say he had a big dog that helps him From the way they talked, it sounded like that dog that took the piece of fur out of your parka They couldn't have got up here to dawson this fast Well, he ain't here yet The description of you was telegraphed up here from Cree's Crossing Cree's Crossing That's right near the place where the man and dog fell over the slope We got to do something fast and for every man in the place it looks like you Yeah Better think of something quick Let's get out of here Slim, look over to that next table What? That man drinking by himself What of it? He's just my size and he has straight black hair Yeah And he's just about my age What are you getting at? I heard him talking to the waiter, he's broke What's that got to do with us? The poster Nobody would ever take you two for twins There's no picture of me on the poster, you fool They don't know what I look like No, that's right If we could plant a sack of that gold on him with a government stamp on it He might have a hard time explaining how he got it You mean if they arrest him, they'll quit looking for us? For a while anyway There he goes, let's follow him Be careful now Let me handle everything Andre Dormet lived in a tumbledown shack at the edge of town He talked to himself cheerfully as he poured the last of his tea into a boiling pot We, Andre, this is last of those tea But tomorrow maybe someone will bring you a nice piece of caribou meat Oh Is that his guest for supper? I hope he brings something to eat Good evening Coming I hope you don't mind having visitors for a while No, I'm very happy to see you But my cabin she's not so good We're not interested in the cabin I saw you back there on a gold horse I noticed you were just my size We That's right You and me, we are short and big 2D middle though It's kind of hard for me to get clothes that fit You see, I had an accident I tore my parka I thought maybe you'd sell me yours My parka? But those parka, she's the only one I have I cannot freeze and I have no money No, don't worry about that My partner and me hit it rich Anyway, I'll give you this old parka mine until you get another You don't mind wearing one Well, I And I'll trade you This sack of gold and my parka for yours You will give all that money No, we can spare it I'd like to help you out I heard the waiter tell you he wouldn't give you another drink My luck, she has changed You are most kind Can you read? Read? No, me, I am poor ignorant man I have never learned to read or write Well, this bag has my name on it So deal then, huh? We, we, but you get bad bargain Here is parka Thanks I'll give you mine, but if you wait I go in town and buy some food for supper and maybe some drink for to celebrate, no? We're leaving town tonight, thanks just for saying But where you go? If you have no place to sleep to my cabin? We're leaving the country and we're anxious to get going What lucky thing for me we are the same size With this money I have good time for months with no work That's the idea You treat a lot of people now, they'll remember it when you're broke again I gotta get going while I still have some daylight It was later that night when constable Kerns of the Northwest Mottet police locked André Dormet in a cell at headquarters André was tearful and confused But I, I tell you I have done nothing This man, he gave me that gold Sorry André, your story sounds very odd Everybody knows you haven't acclaimed what's worth anything Then all of a sudden you get a lot of money But this man, he'd buy my parka Not for that much money Besides, you answer the description of the man who shot the mailman and the bag of gold have the government stamp on it And I'll get in there But me, I cannot read He'd tell me that his name on bag of gold You'd better think of another story if you want anyone to believe it Sergeant Preston will be here tomorrow You'll have a lot of explaining to do Oh, suck it And I think all the time that my lock shall change for better It was the following day that Sergeant Preston arrived in Dawson Constable Kerns held André's parka before him Here's the piece of fur that King Torth and the parka of the man we were chasing And it matches perfectly This is your man, all right, Sergeant There's no question about it You say he claims he's innocent Yes, he does And we can't find the rest of the gold He stole or we've searched his cabin but he must have hidden it somewhere else Well, maybe you can get him to tell you where he put it We'll go back and see him now Why are you leashing him, Sergeant? King Torth has creased the fur out of his parka and I don't know just what he'll do when he sees this man again There you are, King. One boy. He's right back here, Sergeant His name is André Dormet He'd been celebrating last night buying drinks for everybody in the gold horseshoe Only may tell us the truth now that he's had time to think things over Here he is Morning, André Oh, sure Go on in, Sergeant There's a Sergeant Preston, André You've seen him and his dog before, I think No Me, I have never seen him Oh, hello, you nice dog Maybe you will believe André, no? Wait He's petting, King Why should I not pet him? He's only one who believe André Nobody our friend but this dog This can't be the man we're after, Constable But you said yourself that piece of fur matched his Parker All the evidence points to him If this were the man, my dog wouldn't know it King wouldn't attack him one time and be friendly with him the next Right Just because your dog happens to like this Because he does, I want to hear André's story How did you get this Parker, André? This man, he gave me big bag of gold for my Parker and he gave me his Parker, too Was there only one man? No, there was two Would you know them if you saw them again? We, them I would never forget So much trouble they have made for me Did they talk about going anywhere? I mean, did they say where they were going when they left here? No, one a year say they will leave country real soon That's all Leave the country? That means they had for 40 miles in Eagle City to get over the border Do you really believe this man, Sergeant? Yes, I do, and what's more, I'm going to get permission along with me to identify them If I catch up with them That I would do, Mel C, Sergeant They haven't much of a start if they left yesterday I caught up to them before I'm sure I can do it again Well, trusting a dog against all this circumstantial evidence Well, it's up to the Inspector I don't know what to say The Inspector knows King I'll have you out of here in about an hour, André We're starting for 40 miles and traveling fast Mel C, Sergeant I'll catch them, you, me, and and these very smart dog teams Frisco and Slim had reached 40 miles And before they found a room for the night they went into the Silver Slipper Cafe As they stood at the bar Frisco chuckled happily Well, Slim, you got it, man, I'm smart There's no way that Frenchman can help but get caught Maybe the mailman will know he isn't the one who shot at him But my Parker, nobody could tell the difference And they certainly won't believe Frenchie's story about selling an old Parker Not for that kind of money We'll get a room tonight and sleep the clock around No hurry now That's what you'd call back in a mighty fancy red herring across up there The Great Dog King had led Sergeant Preston's team at a fast pace from Dawson to 40 miles The trail was a well-used one and the dogs covered the ground like a racing team It was only a short time after Frisco and Slim had entered the Silver Slipper but the Mounties team drew up in front of the door Oh, King! How are you, Husky? We'll start here with the Silver Slipper runway Everyone stops here first If they're not in here, we'll search the whole town I hope they have not got out of country They didn't have time to get any farther away Now, you'd better go in the back way King and I will take the front door Do you think maybe they try to leave if they see a Mountie? Yes, they may We can't predict what they'll do All right, you go on around the back Come on, King, we go this way Frisco and Slim faced the door having chosen the tables or at the back of the cafe Frisco had lifted his glass but put it down hastily as the front door opened Slim Is there a Marty coming in? Yeah, let's get out of here Hold it, I got my gun ready Maybe he won't notice us Frisco, it's the same dog Get away from me What's wrong with that dog? That King, the unfit He seems to think he knows you He can't do that to me Hey, who hit him? Me, Andre, I will not let him hurt that fine dog King He's the man, Sergeant This is my Parker he's wearing Well, Andre, I didn't expect you to knock him out What's the idea? Hey, what goes on here? That's a Marty You men are under arrest Oh, yes, we have Andre here can identify you as the man who sold him the Parker for a bag of government gold They are the ones that Parker she's mine That dog He's one fine animal He's only one that knows this Parker she's not mine That's why I hit this man with a bottle when he goes for the shoot I'm sure King is grateful, Andre Oh, me I am one who is grateful Yes, King old fella There hadn't been for you an innocent man might have been punished But thanks to you, this case is closed The challenge of the Yukon adventure is brought to you each week at this time and all names and incidents used are fictitious Listen again next week to another exciting adventure during the days of the gold rush Fred Foy speaking This program came to you from Detroit Saturday night, Dull, not on your life if you keep company with ABC We've a lineup of shows to keep you entertained from early in the evening until it's time to go out and get the Sunday morning papers For mystery a la mode Ross Dolan detective is on hand Saturday nights and when Ross seeks to solve a crime it means 30 minutes of solid action and suspense Speaking of suspense wait till you hear famous jury trials the stirring courtroom program that dramatizes typical American jury trials Then there's gangbusters with true crime cases straight from police files all over the country Murder in Mr. Malone is another tense mystery that's bound to keep you sitting on the edge of your chair as that famous criminal lawyer John J. 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