 Now as howling winds echo across the snow-covered reaches of the wild northwest, the Quaker Oats Company, makers of Quaker Pop Wheat, and Quaker Pop Rice, the delicious cereal shot from guns, in cooperation with the Mutual Broadcasting System, present by special recording, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. Yukon King, swift as the strongest lead dog of the northwest, breaking the trail for Sergeant Preston of the northwest mounted police, in his relentless pursuit of lawbreakers, from King on New Huskings. Gold, gold discovered in the Yukon, a stampede to the crondike in the wild race for riches, back to the days of the Gold Rush, and the adventures of Sergeant Preston and his Wunderdog Yukon King, as they meet the challenge of the Yukon. Our adventure will begin in just a moment. Is your youngster a problem child in the classroom? Maybe it's because our schools themselves are such a problem. Maybe your child is sharing desk and textbook with another child who is also finding it hard to learn under such conditions. Nearly a million new students a year are entering schools that are sorely overcrowded and understaffed. 400,000 new teachers will be needed within the next 10 years. President Eisenhower has pointed the way by calling a special White House conference on education to take place in November. Meanwhile, states and communities are organizing their own conferences to discuss local school problems. Carry the ball for your community. And for free information on how to hold a community conference, write Better Schools to West 45th Street, New York, 36th New York. Remember, Better Schools build better communities. This message is brought to you as a public service. The town of Chilliwaw, located a few miles from Whitehorse, consisted of a few houses, a dance hall, a couple of cafes, and the bank, which served the prospectors who worked in the surrounding hills. Martin Garner, owner of the bank, looked out the window and saw an old man leaning into the wind with a small dog at his side. He spoke to his clerk. Well, Joe, looks like Toby Dixon's back in town. Oh, Toby, eh? I thought he was panning gold on Whiteface Mountain. He was. Come on, Blacky. Come on in. Morning, Mr. Garner. Howdy, Toad. Hello, Toby. Morning, Dixon. I suppose you have some gold to be weighed? That's right, Mr. Garner, and if you don't mind, I'd like to change it for holding money, same as usual. You must like holding money. Yes, sir, we do. You're the only man I know who prefers paper currency to gold. I sure do. Why don't you leave your money here in the bank, or it'll be saved. Well, I'll tell you, if Cooks aim to steal money, the bank's the first place to look for it. I'd rather guard my own cash. You've been trading gold for paper for a long time, Dixon, and now you must have a tidy hold of cash. Well, Gens, I'll tell you. I've got all I want. What? Yes, sir, I'm too working. I've panned old Whiteface Stream all these years. Saber and Tor today, when I'd have enough cash to go back to the States and live easy. Now, my ginger, I've got it. Here's my poke. Weave that dust on and pay me off in full and money. Go ahead, Joe. Yes, sir. Toby, it's none of my business. But you're taking a big chance keeping so much money in your house. There's some rough characters in Chilliwaw. Living alone as you do at the edge of town with no protection. No protection? Blackie is the best dad rat and watch dog that ever drew breath. Look, you see this shirt? It's made double. Well, what about it? This here shirt is my bank. Every time I get some folding money, I make a little slit in the lining of this here shirt and sew the cash inside. My cash is always with me. Here's your folding money, Toby. Thanks, Mr. Thorn. Now I'll be on my way. Come on, Blackie. Take care yourself, Toby. Don't worry about me, Mr. Gunner. Not while I have my gun and Blackie. Good day, Mr. Thorn. Good day. That poor old fool. I'd bet ten to one he never reaches the States with his money. It was about one week later in the early morning when Sergeant Preston and the great dog Yukon King came into the town of Chilliwaw. Dr. Brady, an old friend, invited the sergeant to stop for a moment. Go off your park, Sergeant, and come over by the fire. Thanks, Doc. You plan to be in town long? No, just passing through. I'm doing White Horse tomorrow to appear at the trial. Oh, too bad. I hope you'd stay in Chilliwaw a few days. Any particular reason? There's trouble brewing. Trouble? Yes. Do you know Toby Dixon? Yes, I remember him. What about him? Well, he came back from his claim a week ago. He let it be known he had all the cash he needed. He told everyone he was going back to the States. He was foolish to talk so freely. Yes, he found that out. So far, there have been two attempts to steal his cash. Doesn't he keep it in the bank? No, it's hidden somewhere in his house. Monday night while he was in the cafe, his house was ransacked. Even the floorboards were ripped up. You said there were two attempts to rob him? Yes. The night before last, the prowler was around his house. His dog, Blackie, started barking, wakened Toby and scared the prowler away. Anything happened last night? Oh, I haven't heard yet. Doc! Hey, Doc! Doc, please! That's like an emergency. Here's Jake Tabor. Hey, Doc, you better come quick. Where? Oh, Monty. Well, this is Sergeant Preston here. Glad to know you're Sergeant Preston. Well, what's wrong, Jake? Well, Toby Dixon sent me to get you, Doc. Can you take my bag while I get into my parking? I'll go with him. He was passing his place. He stuck his head out the door and yelled at me. He said to come on the run and get you. Ready, Sergeant? Yes, come on, King. It took but a few minutes to reach the small one-room cabin where Toby Dixon lived with his dog, Blackie. Doc Brady entered the shack with Sergeant Preston, Jake Tabor, and King close behind. Old Toby knelt beside his small dog, who lay motionless on the bunk. What is it, Toby? Are you hurt or sick? It's dark. It's Blackie. Look at the poor little critter. You're a dog? Yeah. Oh, Sergeant Preston, safe your life, Sergeant. I'm glad you're here. Toby, this looks like a knife wound. That's what it is, Doc. When I found Blackie, he was lying on the ice. I carried him in here and put him on the bunk. Doc, he hasn't moved. Toby, I'm sorry. Your dog's dead. I thought so. But, Doc, who'd do it? Who's ordinary enough to do a thing like this? Sergeant Preston, you have to find the killer. Does the knife? Yes. It was lying beside Blackie on the ground. I thought it in, figuring I might find the owner. Toby, are you any idea who did this? No, Jake. Got up this morning, same as usual, and opened the door so that Blackie could take a run. He built up the fire and put the coffee on for breakfast and opened the door. But Blackie didn't come back. I called to him and still he didn't come. And I was looking for him. I found him out front, lying on the ice. The knife won't show footprints. You know who owns this knife? I never saw it before. It looks like Bart Weaver's knife. I don't know Bart Weaver. He's new in town, Sergeant. He works in the cafe. This is his knife, all right. One just like it. Was Blackie friendly with Bart Weaver? Well, he was friendly with everyone. Bart, Jake here, he was friendly with everyone. Anyone could have knifed him while he was saying good morning. But he barked at the prowler the night before last. Oh, yeah. You know about that? I told the sergeant about it, Toby. He barked at anyone sneaking up during the night, just the same as he'd be friends with anyone who spoke to him during the day. Your dog was probably killed by whoever's trying to steal your money. I know it. The crook found out he couldn't rob me with Blackie on guard, so he killed Blackie. You'll get the killer, won't you, Sergeant Preston? The human king will get on his trail of life. The knife doesn't show when he trailed, Toby. A number of people have walked along the street, so King couldn't follow his scent. He won't stop you, Sergeant. Will it? Toby, I must be in the White Horse tonight. I'll have to leave here in less than an hour. No, you can't leave here. There's been a murder. White Horse is only a four-hour walk. I'll come back as soon as possible. And we'll see what we can do to bring the man who killed your dog to justice. I'll give a reward. Now, look, all my savings are right here in paper money sold inside my shirt. Inside your shirt? I'll give every dollar of it as a reward. Toby, do you tell everyone where your money's hidden? Of course not, but I trust you and Doc and Jake. Don't tell anyone else. Now, listen, Toby, with your watchdog gone, there may be another attempt to rob you. I'll leave King with him. You're going to leave your dog? Yes, and you keep him with you every minute until I return before I leave. I'll question Bart Weaver about this knife. I'll go with you. I want to hear what he has to say. We'll continue our adventure in just a moment. Say, kids, how about you and your whole family going to the baseball game? You will have the time of your lives. Seeing those smashing home runs, watching exciting double plays and strikeouts, eating peanuts and cracker jack. Why not go this very week? Come out to the ball game as guest of a major or minor league team. Yep, admission is absolutely free if you are 12 years or younger and bring mom or dad or another paying adult. And you can get your free ticket immediately. No mailing, no waiting. Free baseball tickets are right inside packages of Quaker Puffed Wheat, Quaker Puffed Rice, and Muffet Shredded Wheat. In Quaker Paco 10, you get two free tickets. Names of the teams and dates of the games are on every ticket. Remember the more packages of these delicious Quaker cereals mom gets, the more free baseball tickets you get. So tell mom you want to eat lots of Quaker Puffed Wheat or Puffed Rice, Muffet Shredded Wheat or Quaker Paco 10. And just think of the fun you'll have at the ball game. Seeing real star players in person and cheering for home runs. To continue, Doc returned to his office and Jake remained a very blocky while Sergeant Preston, accompanied by Toby and King, called on Bart Weaver in the convey. Bart looked at the knife. Well, it's my life. I lost it a couple of weeks ago. Where'd you get it, Sergeant? I found it. It was used to kill my dog. Oh, Toby, I'm sorry to hear that. Mighty sorry. I know how much you thought of blacky. Sergeant Preston questioned the man at length but Bart stuck to his story and lost his knife some time previously. In the limited time at his disposal, Sergeant Preston could go no further with the investigation. He and King returned to Toby's house. Toby, I'll be back from White Horse as soon as possible. All right, Sergeant. Remember what I told you about King? You, King. Oh! You ought to take care of Toby. Understand, boy? Oh! What about feeding him, Sergeant Preston? He's been taught to take no food from strangers. Well, say it's alive. He has to eat. And I have a first-rate caribou hanging out back. It's all skinned and dressed. I'll show it to King and make him understand. He'll be all right to eat it. Good. Come around to the back of the place and I'll let you see it. Come on, then. Sergeant Preston made King understand that he might eat food offered by the old man. And then he left for White Horse. That night at supper time, Toby cut off a good-sized slab of the caribou meat, never suspecting it had been poisoned by a prowler while he and King were away from the cabin. King ate well, but Toby grieving for his dog ate nothing. He turned in earlier than usual and tossed restlessly for some time before he finally fell asleep. It was the middle of the night when a figure crept stealthily to the cabin door, opened it, went inside. There was no alarm from King. The great dog lay motionless near the foot of Toby's bunk, more nearly dead than alive, a victim of the poisoned meat. Toby, sleeping lightly, was awakened by the creaking floorboards. I hear someone. Who are you? He saw a dark form standing close to the bunk. What are you doing here? A pistol barrel flooded against poor Toby's head with stunning force. The old man went limp. It was late afternoon of the following day when Sergeant Preston returned to Chilliwaw. Traveling on foot over the icy trail, the mountain reached the edge of town when he saw Bart Weaver. At the same moment, Bart saw Preston and ran to medium. Sergeant, Sergeant Preston. Sergeant, I have something to tell you. What is it, Weaver? I'm in a hurry. He's not told Toby out, made off with all his money. We sewed inside his shirt. But I left King to guard Toby. The dog was poisoned. What? Doc Brady's still at Toby's place. He's been there since... See you later. Yeah, but Sergeant... Sergeant Preston didn't wait to hear the rest. He ran to Toby's cabin. Sergeant Preston! Doc, I heard about King. King, what have they done to your boy? Oh, Doc, he's as weak as a kitten. Yes, he's very weak. Where'd you hear about him? I'm at Weaver. He said King had been poisoned. Your dog has passed the crisis. He's out of danger. Thanks to Toby's quick work. Oh, Toby, forgive me. I was so concerned about King, I forgot that you'd suffered a great loss. Oh, that's all right. What happened last night? Well, I fed King some of the caribou. I had hanging out back. I didn't have any myself. I wasn't hungry. He turned in, and sometime during the night, I woke up. I heard the floor creaking from someone moving inside the house. Did you see who it was? No, it was too dark. Then something hit me on the head. A record the man must have got accustomed to the dark to see my head. I was knocked out. I came to and struck a light. Then I saw King stretched out on the floor. His leg stiff as ramrods, and he was sated like with the aegyo. What to do for him? I knew it was poison. I'd seen it work before. I melted some tallow and poured it down his throat. He got rid of some of the poison. Then I gave him more hot tallow and kept it up till daybreak. I didn't dare leave him long enough to go for dark. I just happened to drop in this morning. I've been here ever since. Toby, I can't begin to thank you for what you've done. But I give you my word, I'll not rest until I recover your money and find the man who killed your dog. King was carefully moved to Dr. Brady's home, where Sergeant Preston was to stay for the next few days. While King regained his strength, the Mountie put forth every effort to find evidence against the man who had ram-sacked Dixon's home, stabbed Blackie, poisoned King, and stolen old Toby's money. But his efforts led nowhere. It was this evening when he sat with the doctor in front of the fireplace. King lay on the floor nearby. King seemed quite lively when we went for a walk tonight, Doug. Yes, he's nearly back to his normal strength. Will he be able to go with me tomorrow? Yes, if you don't overwork him. Oh, good. You hear that, King? You'll be glad to be back at your sign. Sergeant, have you any ideas about the identity of the Poisoner? Yes, I have. You have? I think I know who he is. But what I think isn't sufficient evidence. is his reaction doesn't confirm my suspicion. Well, I don't understand. Doug, do you remember the first attempt to get Toby's money? Yes, someone ram-sacked his house while he was in the cafe. The thief didn't know where the cash was hidden. Well, if he had, he wouldn't have searched the house. But the night King was poisoned, the thief knew where to go for the cash. He slugged Toby and stripped off his shirt. At that time, few people knew where Toby kept his cash. The banker knew it. So did Clerk. Toby told them. They knew it before the house was ram-sacked. They knew who thorned with the thief. They'd have known where to find the cash. Well, that's good logic. They wouldn't have ram-sacked the house. Now, when the thief actually got the cash, he slugged Toby and stripped off the shirt. That means that the thief is a man who learned about the shirt on the day of the robbery. That narrows it down. To one man, Jake Tabor was with us when Toby told about his shirt. Preston, I think Jake Tabor's your man. But there's not a shred of evidence to back my suspicion. Furthermore, King doesn't bristle when he sees Jake. He was the most friendly one Jake called here to inquire about it. King was partially paralyzed with a poison when the money was stolen. He couldn't warn Toby. But, Doc, I think he'd remember this scent of the intruder, and he'd hate it. Maybe he was more nearly unconscious than you think. In any event, I think I've found a way to trap Jake and make him show his hand. But I'll need your help. Count on it. What shall I do? Call on Toby tonight. Tell Toby that he used to pretend illness. Then go to the cafe and tell Bart weaver that you're worried about Toby. And that he might be coming down with a serious disease. One that's contagious. One that might infect anyone. It was one hour later when Doc Brady visited the cafe. Bart, I just came from Toby's place and I'm worried. Oh, Toby. What's that about old Toby? Oh, hello, Jake. Hello. Toby, have more trouble? He's sick, Jake. It might be critical. I'll know more about him in the morning. He might have something like smallpox or even worse. Did I hear someone mention smallpox? Yes, you did, Thor. Doc was saying Toby has something that's worse than smallpox. I'm not sure I'll see what develops in the morning. It's worse than smallpox. Hey, Doc, is it catching? If Toby has the fever I'm thinking of, we'll have to put a guard in his cabin to be sure no one gets close to him. Doc, I suppose you can cure Toby. I'll do my best. I'll herd a white horse and get a special medicine. It would immunize a man who'd be exposed to it. Will you get enough of that medicine to protect the rest of us here in town? That would be impossible, Bart. It's a very scarce medicine. I'll have a hard time persuading the doctor and white horse to give me enough for Toby. There's very little of that medicine in the Yukon territory. Nowhere near enough to use for people who are not ill. We'll just have to hope for the best. We'll continue our adventure in just a moment. It's a homer! Oh, boy, kids, what fun it is at the ballpark. Come on out to the game. Come now as guests of a major or minor league team. It's your chance to get free baseball tickets. If you are 12 years or younger, you can see a major or minor league baseball game free with a paying adult like mom or dad. Bring the whole family and make a big day of it. This very day, or first thing tomorrow morning, you can get a free baseball ticket. No mailing, no waiting. It's right inside a package of Quaker Puff Wheat or Quaker Puff Rice or Muffet Shredded Wheat or by Quaker Packo 10 and get two free baseball tickets. Names of teams and dates are on every ticket. Hurry to get your free baseball ticket in the special package of Quaker Puff Wheat or Rice, Muffet Shredded Wheat or Quaker Packo 10. After dark, it left the cafe. The news spread rapidly. By the following morning, the whole town was buzzing with old Toby's mysterious ailment. Oh, Critter, I'm sorry for him. Standing in front of Doc Brady's house, Sergeant Preston heard snatches of conversation from the passersby. Then the doctor came out of the house dressed for travel. Ready, Doc? Yep. How's our plan working? First grade so far. Sorry you have to go to Whitehorse. It'll do me good. I should be there by noon and back here sometime in the late afternoon. I'll keep an eye on Jake. If he's guilty, he'll be worried about the shirt in his possession. In the past, Dr. Brady journeyed to Whitehorse on the pretext of getting special medicine. Meanwhile, Sergeant Preston kept a sharp but uninclusive watch on Jake Taber. Jake went about his normal pursuits and in mid-afternoon became engaged in the poker game in the cafe. Sergeant Preston and the great dog Yukon King waited outside the door. When it was time for Dr. Brady to return to Chilliwaw, Jake still lingered at the card game. The bounty glanced at his watch increasing frequency as the minutes dragged into an hour. Then Jake came out of the cafe. Oh, hello, Sergeant Preston. How'd you make out, Jake? I want a tidy sum from the boys. They're all worried about catching Toby's fever. Mines aren't on the game. I see. I want enough to buy new clothes. I'm on the way to spend it before I get into another card game. I'll see you again. King, he doesn't act like the guilty man. Once more, Sergeant Preston looked at his watch. Dr. Brady should have been back here an hour ago. No wonder. We're going to go out and meet him. Come on, King. King thrilled to the summons. It was good to be back on the trail trotting at his master's side. Sergeant Preston had traveled less than one mile after leaving town when he saw Dr. Brady. Doc! There was something wrong. Doc's hat was gone, and he walked with dragging steps, weaving from side to side. Preston! Doc, what's the matter with you? What's happened? Here, take my arm. It'll be all right in a few minutes. How did Jake get away from you? He didn't. He's in town now. Someone slugged me from behind. I don't know who it was. I was unconscious. When I came to, the bottle of medicine was gone. I was unsteady on my feet for a time, but I'm better now, getting stronger every minute. Can you take me back to that spot on the trail? Yes, but the ground's frozen too hard to show footprints. King may be able to pick up the scent of the man who slugged you. Hey, King! It was only a couple of hundred yards to the place where Doc had fallen. There, the great dog King reacted violently. He found and recognized the scent he hated. He was reminded of a prowler in the night. A man who had hurt old Toby at a time when he, King, lay helpless. He looked up at his master. He wanted desperately to follow that trail. All right, King, go ahead, boy. King started to cross the ice and hard-packed snow, angling off the trail. Then he cut back toward town and went directly to a small house. He smiled and parked and clawed at the door until his master caught up. All right, King, we're going in. The door was opened by Joe Thorne, clerk in Garner's bank. Get out! Get out! What's the matter with him? He hates cooks, Thorne. You knock Dr. Brady down. King has the scent he followed you. I think a search of this house might reveal the bottle of medicine you took from Dr. Brady. Doc's on the way here and he'll identify it. And the search might reveal Toby Dixon's money and his shirts. Get that dog out of here. He's on the track of something. Get out of there, you man! Get away from that bed! Get away! He's found something. I'll kill you, dog! I'll take that gun. Get on your feet. Stand over there. I'll see what King's trying to pull from under that mattress. Preston, Preston, this is Thorne's house. Come here, Doc. See what King's found. Toby Dixon's shirt. What, then, Thorne is the thief. And here's Toby's money. That dog, that dog found it. Dog, you tried the poison and you tried the frame-bought weaver for stabbing Blackie. I found his knife. I meant to return it to him. And while I learned that old Toby had money, well, you know the answer. Why did you ransack the house on the first night you tried to steal the money? I didn't for the first night, Preston. It was Garner, my boss. The biker? Yes, he was afraid someone would rob Toby, so he went to the house and messed things up a little, hoping to scare the old man in to put his cash into the bank. Well, be dog-gory. He was sure someone would get the cash inside that shirt, and so was I. I thought I might as well be the lucky one. I'm telling you this because I... Well, I'm done for. I've been handling that germ-laden shirt so much. I'm sure to catch the fever. Fact is, I feel the beginning of it already. Nothing can help me. What about the medicine you stole? Look in the next room. I was just about to drink it when I looked out the window and saw that dog coming. I dropped the bottle in it, it broke. The medicine's gone. It won't matter, Thorn. Because you see old Toby's just as well as I am. That medicine was just ordinary bitter. What? Trick. I'll guest all the way. Thorn, you poisoned the caribou that old Toby planned to eat, and that's attempted murder. For that and the robbery to say nothing of what you did to Blackie and the King, I'll make it my business to see that you get the full limit of the law. I'll come with me. On the way to jail, we'll return Toby's money and tell him that this case is closed. Sergeant Preston will return in just a moment with a word about our next exciting adventure. Here's a mutual note for you. Mutual is a network that has programs you can enjoy throughout the week. If you like question and answer fun, then you'll find there are all sorts of quiz programs you can listen to on Mutual. You can try and I'll guest the contestants and see if you know the right answer before they do. Even if you don't know, it's loads of fun listening to others, and you can learn a lot at the same time, too. And some of you boys and girls probably have favorite songs and favorite singers that you like to listen to. When you tune into Mutual, you'll hear many of the stars you like best, singing and playing the kind of music you enjoy most. Don't forget, too, there are programs of outdoor adventure and others of barn dance music and jamboree. There's plenty of good listening waiting for you on your Mutual dial. Tune in every weekday afternoon for Mutual's famous programs, especially designed for adventure lovers. And remember to listen other times as well for different kinds of programs you like over most of these stations. In our next adventure, a 17-year-old boy rides in the Sergeant Preston's camp and pulls his mount to a sliding halt. Oh, Tony Wayne. I just found out something. About your father's murder? Yes, I found out he was going to meet someone on the night he was killed. Oh, Lige Hawkins. I don't think he did it, but Lige has disappeared. You may have seen it happen. Find him, Sergeant. Well, do our best, Tony. You may depend on that. But there are other men looking for Lige Hawkins. Men who have already committed one murder and who will stop at nothing to satisfy their greed for gold. The trail the Sergeant and King must follow is charged with danger. Don't miss this next exciting adventure. These Sergeant Preston of the Yukon Adventures are brought to you every Monday through Friday at this time by the Quaker Roads Company, makers of Quaker Pop Wheat and Quaker Pop Rice, the delicious cereals shot from gun by special recording in cooperation with the Mutual Broadcasting System. They are a copyrighted feature of Sergeant Preston of the Yukon Incorporated, created by George W. Trendle, produced by Trendle Campbell Muir Incorporated and directed by Fred Flower Day. The part of Sergeant Preston is played by Paul Sutton. This is Jay Michael wishing you goodbye, good luck, and good health from Quaker Pop Wheat and Quaker Pop Rice. So long. This is Mutual, Radio Network for All America.