 The challenge of the Yukon. It's Yukon King, swiftness and strongest lead dog of the Northwest, blazing the trail for Sergeant Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police in his relentless pursuit of lawbreakers. On King, on you, Husky. Gold, gold discovered in the Yukon, a stampede to the Klondike in the wild race for riches. Back to the days of the Gold Rush, with Sergeant Preston and his wonder dog Yukon King as they meet the challenge of the Yukon. Spring had come to the Yukon territory. There was great activity in Whitehorse as some prospectors prepared to work their claims. Others who had succeeded in getting enough gold to satisfy them sold their belongings and headed for the States. Ten-year-old Bobby Vail, whose father worked at the express office, left their cabin on the edge of town and walked to the general store. Several men stood in front of the store listening to a prospector who discussed a dog team he was taking to the kennels. Yeah, I made a quick deal for all seven of these dogs with a fella from up the creek who was heading for the States. I thought I got a bog until I found out one of them's no good. And they looked pretty good to me. Yeah, which is a bad one. All right, that white one there. After the fella left with my cash, I discovered that white husky is blind. All right, blind. Well, anyway, I got six good ones. I'll take them to the kennels to board for the summer. I'll have the kennel master go away with the blind one. No good in the team disrupts all the others. Hey, mister, you mean you're going to have that nice white dog killed? Sure, he's more trouble than he's worth, son. Oh, guys, here fella, nice dog. Look, he's looking my hand. He likes me. Will you sell him to me, mister? Will you? Sell him to you? Listen to that, man. The boy wants to buy the blind husky, sir. But I mean it. I'll give you a dollar for him. I have a dollar I saved right here with me. Keep your dollar, son. I'll let you have the mutt for nothing if you want him that much. Oh, golly. Here, tie a piece of rope to his collar, and let you take him home. There. All right, he's all yours, son. Gosh, thanks a lot. I'm going to call him Whitey. Come on, Whitey. Come on, Whitey. The boy's parents will raise hard with him for bringing home a blind dog, I reckon. Well, better get going to the kennels with the rest of them. Come on, you huskies. Bobby's father, Joe Vale, was at home for noonday dinner when Bobby returned with the dog Whitey. Come on, Whitey. Let's go. Just wait a moment and see if they're just going to love you. Go on, go on, go on. Bobby, why should anyone give you a dog like that? You sure you didn't find him and bring him home? Oh, no, Dad. A man gave him to me, honest. Joe, I don't understand. As you say, why should anyone get... Whitey is... Whitey's blind, that's why. Blind? A jumpin' catfish. No wonder somebody gave him away. What good is a blind dog? But he likes me, Dad, and I like him. That makes no difference. Take that dog and give him back. No one's going to push off an old blind mud on us to take care of. If I give him back, you'll be killed, the man said so. Please, Dad, let me keep Whitey, please. He'll be of great care, Bobby. I'll take care of him all by myself, honest, Mom. Listen to me, Bobby, I told... Joe, dear, wait a minute. If Bobby wants to take the responsibility of caring for the dog, well, it will give the boy something to think about, something to do. Well, if you're willing, Helen, I... Oh, golly, Whitey, they're going to let you stay. You're going to be my dog. Come on, Phillip, we'll go outside and play. Come on, Whitey, go, go, go, go, go, go. Ah, blind dog, what do you know about that? And it means added expense to feed him, too. It won't cost much, Joe, and it made Bobby so happy. Now, come, eat your dinner, dear. Several weeks went by, and Bobby's blind dog, Whitey, was his constant companion. Joe Vale, Bobby's father, still considered Whitey a worthless expense. He hoped that the boy would soon tire of the dog and planned when that happened to take him to the kennels to be disposed of. But as time went by, the boy and dog seemed to grow closer together. One evening, Sergeant Preston and the Northwest Mounted Police came to the Vale cabin to pay a visit. Hold, Whitey, hold. Come along, King. Well, Sergeant Preston and King, glad to see you. Come in. Thanks, Joe. Sergeant Preston and King. Hi, Sergeant. Hello, Bobby. Hello, King. Look, King and Whitey seem to like each other. Well, Whitey's a fine dog, Bobby. Where'd you get him? The dog's blind, Sergeant. Some prospector gave him to Bobby. Hello, Sergeant. Hello, Ellen. I see you've met Whitey. I must admit he makes a good playmate for Bobby, but otherwise, he's useless. Oh, gosh, Mom, Whitey's smart, honest. When we play hide-and-seek, he finds me every time. If he's good company for the boy, that's all it counts. As long as Bobby wants him, I'll put up with him. But he eats like a horse. And money isn't too plentiful around here, Sergeant. Bobby, take the dogs outside and play a while. Oh, sure, Mike. Come on, Whitey. Come on, King. Go on, boy. Go on. Well, Sergeant, what brings you to Whitehorse? The team patrol, Joe. I'll be leaving here in a day or two. How's the express business? Getting heavier all the time. Whitehorse is growing, and there's plenty of express to handle, mostly gold shipments. I see. In fact, they have me working overtime at night. I have to go back to the office after supper. Yes. And the company doesn't pay Joe any more for it either. Even though he works twice as long, living costs have gone so high here in the Yukon territory, it's difficult to make ends meet. Yes, I know, but it may not always be like that, Helen. I wish I could raise enough cash to buy a claim. I'll never get anywhere being just an express clerk. Well, Joe, you're lots better off than many who are working claims, believe me. Well, I must get back to the constable's office. We have some reports to go with tonight. I'll see you again before I leave town. I hope things turn out better for you, Joe. I'll find some way to get out of this rut. You can count on that. Good night. I'll send Bobby in as I go out. Good night, Sergeant. That night, at the constable's office, Sergeant Preston and the constable were discussing events that had happened in and around Whitehorse. Sergeant, in the past few weeks, several robberies have taken place near here. I thought at first you'd come here because of a report I sent to Dawson. I didn't see your report, Constable. You found a lead to any of the criminals? No, I haven't. In fact, evidence leads me to believe that a gang's operating in this vicinity and that all the robberies have been their work. What makes you think that? Well, a prospector was stopped and robbed on the trail by four men with war bandanas over their faces. A week ago, four men entered the Gold Nugget Cafe and held up the customer. I see. The general store was broken into and robbed several days ago. I trailed the hoof marks of four horses as far as the creek. And I lost the trail. Well, if you want to tell me, it seems that your conclusion is a good one. From descriptions given of one of the bandits, it's true that he's Rusty Rain. That's the outlaw I received a hand bill on about a month ago. Well, it's interesting. Rain and his gang were thought to have escaped over the border. Well, they must have come back up from Skagway recently because witnesses have described the leader of the gang as a heavy man with a shock of rusty red hair and a scar on his chin. That fits the description of Rain. I'll stay here and do what I can to help you find that gang. Fine, fine. I was hoping you'd say that, Sergeant. I'll go over the reports on those crimes tonight. In the morning, we'll try to get a lead on their hideout. That evening, about 6 p.m., two rough-looking men sat at a table in the cafe talking confidentially. I got some news that Rusty would be glad to hear, Dave. Yeah? What is it, Mike? There's a big shipment of gold in the safe at the express office. Well, that's sure worth knowing, all right. I hear there'll be only one man there in the office to watch it, too. Yeah. Hey, where did you get all this information? You'll find out all about that when I talk it over with Rusty. You're looking too much in here. Well, I found out something that interests Rusty, too. What? That famous Monty Sergeant Preston is in town of that smart dog he is. Hey, maybe he got wind that we're operating in this territory. Rusty won't be glad to hear that he's down this way. You'll know what to do. Don't worry. Come on, Mike. I better go to the hideout and tell Rusty what we found out. Yeah, let's go. The two crooks left the cafe and, mounting their horses, rode the south trail from town. Later, they stopped before the hideout cabin on the bank of Bear Creek. Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho. Steady there. Rusty Rain and the fourth member of the gang were playing cards as Mike and Dave entered. Rusty put down his cards and stole them. Well, what brings you fellas back from the cafe so early? You run out of cash? Nope. We both got some news for you, Rusty. Dave better tell you his news first. Yeah. Sergeant Preston, Sergeant Preston and his dog are in town. Oh, Preston. I didn't expect him down here. I saw him in a store. Told the storekeeper he was on routine patrol. Oh, and that accounts for his being here now. Of course, the constable will tell him what we've done recently. That's right. We better watch our step, Rusty. I'm the only one he might know by sight and I'll keep undercover. Aren't you going to tell Rusty about the goal at the express office, Mike? Well, maybe we better forget that Preston is around town. Forget what, Mike? Go ahead. Tell him what you found out. Like I told Dave in the cafe, I found out there's a big gold shipment at the express office tonight, Rusty. How'd you know that? While I was sitting in a corner of the cafe waiting for Dave to join me, the fellow who works at the express office came in and sat down to eat supper at a nearby table with another man. Well, what about him? But the other man was asking him about the gold shipment from the bank that was there waiting to go out early in the morning. He was complaining because he'd have to stay around until it went away under guard in the morning. You mean he was yapping that loose talk around the cafe? No, he was talking low to the man with you. I don't think he realized I could hear what he said. He left before Dave came in. Mm-hmm. And what gives you the idea he'll be at the express office alone, Mike? Well, he was sore because he figured the shipment would be just as safe as a place and went home. That's what I heard him say. And he said his boss would leave as soon as he got back to the office. Mm-hmm. Looks like it'd be easy thing to get that gold. I'm about it, Rossy. But you're forgetting about Preston and his dog. No, I'm not. I'm going to send one of you right now to the Indian village about a half a mile down the creek. You all know Tulac, who does odd jobs for us here at the cabin. All right, Dave, you go. Tell Tulac to bring his canoe up the creek away. Where's he fitting? As soon as Tulac gets here, we'll set out for town. Tulac will ride double with me. We'll go in the front door of the express office, rob the safe, and tie up the clerk. After we come out, Tulac will bring the horses back here to the hideout. What about us? We'll separate in front of the express office and go on foot to the hotel, taking separate rooms. Then we'll meet in my room to divvy the gold. Look, I don't get it. Listen, Tulac, what it's all about? No, no, no. But he doesn't know he can't double with me. But be not savvy why you want Tulac gold. We want you to bring back the horses. Bring them back. Wait for the gold, you promise them. Me wait. You send gold to village later. Hope he has sense enough to do the things where you told him. Better make sure he understands everything. Look, Tulac. At the cafe, he doesn't eat much and he buys his supper, so I want you to take him a sandwich and some coffee. It isn't far to his office, and it's still light. I'm sure you'll be able to take it to him, won't you? Oh, sure. Why do you go with me, won't you, Phil? Now the coffee is in this small pail, and the sandwich is in this package. Now you carry them carefully. I'll be careful. Come on, Woody, let's go. Come back before darkness sets in. Yes, ma'am. At the express office, he was busy checking way bills. He didn't notice the horseman who quietly reigned to a stop outside. He was startled when the front door opened and four men entered. Joe sprang to his feet when he saw that the men wore bandanas across their faces. And at the same time, his hand reached into an open drawer of the desk. All right, don't reach for a gun, mister, you're covered. Rusty rains, King. Right. Get over there and open it safe. No. I... I don't know the combination. Open it or you'll get a bullet. Go on. Stop stalling for time. Get moving. Hey, take it easy. All right, hurry up. Open that safe. All right, let's open, Rusty. Good. Now before we do anything else, I'm gonna do this. All right, Dave. Well, Mike and I clean out the safe. You and Sam tie and gag him. Yeah, sure. All right, come on, Mike. Let's get busy. All right. Yeah, we got it all, Rusty. Two carpet bags, hold all the pokes. I'll carry one, you carry the other, Mike. All right. Got him tied and gagged, Rusty. Good. Since he's out cold, he won't know we didn't use our horses for the getaway. Now, let's zone her out one at a time. You go first, Dave. Give Tulac the high sign to beat it with the horses. Yeah, all right. I'll see you at the hotel. Now, I'll go out last. There goes Tulac with the horses. Now, I'll go on to the hotel. At few minute intervals, the other two crooks left the express office and sorted up the street toward the hotel. Finally, Rusty was moving his bandanas as the others had done and pulling down his wide brim hat left the express office. As Rusty walked up the street, Bobby Vale and his blind husky whitey walked toward him. With his hat partially obscuring his vision, Rusty didn't see the dog cross in front of him. What? He stumbled over the dog and fell. Oh, golly, Mr. I'm sorry. I ought to put a bullet in him, the crazy mutt. Bobby, hey, don't kick my dog. He couldn't help. Come on, get out of the way. Get away from me, you mutter up. Whitey, whitey, whitey, whitey. You're lucky I don't shoot him. Watch your step next time, kid. Gosh, Whitey. He might have used his gun on you. What's that? Come on, give it to me. Give it to me. He trapped his bandana. Maybe I don't know. I'll just keep it for you to play with, Whitey. I'll just get the torch and he'll just get mad at you. Let's go, Phil. Come on, Whitey. Come on, Phil. A few minutes later, Bobby and Whitey entered the express office. Quickly, Bobby untied the cords and took away the gag, but his father lay still and white with eyes closed. It wasn't long before Bobby returned with his mother. Joe, speak to me. It's Helen. Oh, Helen, I... Joe, what happened? Bobby found your tied and gagged. Four of them. They robbed the safe. He hit me on the head. Bobby, run to the constable's office quickly. Tell them what happened and ask them to come right over. Sergeant Preston, the constable and King lost no time in getting to the scene of the robbery. Joe Vale told them what had happened and then Preston said, How long ago did it happen, Joe? Do you know? Sergeant, I don't know exactly. I'd say it was a little before nine when they came in. Well, it's 9.30 now. They haven't too much of a start on this constable. We ought to be able to pick up their trail outside. Yes, that won't be difficult. What's Bobby's dog acting so strange about? Why he's been acting that way ever since he came in? Sniffing about the room and growling? I guess he knows something happened and he's excited about it. Oh, if Bobby wasn't blind, he'd help catch those outlaws, I betcha. You'd better take him home, Bobby. He's just in the way. Oh, Joe, and rest awhile. There's nothing you can do here now. How could I rest knowing they got away with 10,000 in gold? Helen's right, Joe. There isn't a thing you can do. The constable and I will try to catch them and get the stolen gold. You go home with Helen and Bobby. We'll pick up the trail outside. All right, Sergeant. The group, along with King and Whitey, left the express office as Joe locked the door behind them. Joe, Helen and Bobby watched as the two Maudies scrutinized the ground in front of the building. There were marks of four horses constable. They left a clear trail. Yes. Looks like they headed toward the south trail. We'll have King get the sense and then we'll mountain follow him. Here, King, head boy. That blind Husky's still acting up. Now he's worrying King. Look at him. The blind Husky Whitey had found the scent of the man who had kicked him. The scent had been an express office. Whitey was trying to convey to King the idea that they should follow that scent and not those left by the horses. Then turned and ran along the street a short way looking back. King understood from Whitey that a human who had been near the safe inside had walked down the street. King tried to convey this thought to his master. Bobby, take that dog away from here. He's confusing King. Oh, I guess Whitey's still excited because the man kicked him a while ago. Just before we went into the express office. Whitey sniffed and growled around the safe inside all the time Bobby was gone when he went to get you, Sergeant Preston. All right. Now the crazy dog should be left alone. Wait a minute. Bobby, you say a man kicked Whitey just before you went to the office. Uh-huh. The man was coming down the street. He had his hat pulled down and didn't see us. Whitey ran in front of him and he fell down. He swung at Whitey with a carpet bag he was carrying. Then kicked him. What sort of man was he, Bobby? Well, he was big and sort of tough. He dropped a bandana and Whitey tore it so I didn't call him back to give it to him. A bandana? You still have it? Thanks. Joe, I'm going back into the office with King for a few minutes. It may turn out that Whitey's much smarter than you give him credit for. Open the door for me. Sure. Come along, King. A few minutes later, Sergeant Preston and King left the express office. King was excited. What did you discover, Sergeant? King got the scent from the bandana. He found the same scent in front of the safe. But the hoof marks of the poor horses, Sergeant Art. Let's get into something. All right, King. Whitey. Come on, Constable. Joe, you, Helen and Bobby, wait at your cabin, please. Right. Yes, he's helped a lot already. Let's go, Constable. At the hotel, the crooks had gathered in Rusty's room on the drowned floor. Rusty took pokes of gold from the carpet bags and placed them on a table. Yeah. By this time, maybe the mownies are following the trail the horses left to the hideout. They should be stumped when they get there and don't find anybody. And there's no way for them to know we're right here in town. Go for your guns. Hold it. As the crooks reached for their guns, both Sergeant Preston and the Constable fired, wounding Mike and Dave. As Rusty and the other oblaw grabbed for their guns, Yukon, King and Whitey went into action. The blind husky made for Rusty. King sprang at the outlaw, Sam. Help! King trained in some doing criminals. Grabbed Sam's gun arm, causing him to drop his gun. Take him away! Stop, will you? But Whitey's only thought was to get the man who had kicked him. Whitey had knocked Rusty off balance and had grabbed his coat. But Rusty, recovering, aimed his gun at the husky's head. Let go! Shut up! King, don't worry. That's enough Whitey. I set down. Morning, fast, Sergeant. Yes, in spite of his blindness, Whitey's a fine dog. There's the stolen gold on the table, Constable. Oh, get it. Rain, I arrest you and your men in the name of the Crown. Let's get them to jail, Constable. Then we'll take Whitey back to Bobby. After putting the crooks in jail, the two Motties with King and Whitey went to the Vale's cabin. Sergeant, did you get them? We caught them, Joe. Stolen golds in the safe of the Constable's office. Great. Come on in. You too, Whitey. Did he help us? Bobby, if it hadn't been for Whitey, we might not have found the crooks at all. He and King attacked two of the crooks and kept them from getting a chance to shoot us. I can't believe Whitey really did it. Seeing that he's blind... Because of his blindness, Whitey's sense of smell is extremely keen. You see, he knew that the man who kicked him had been in the express office. And I guess there's only such a thing as dog language. He told King all about it. But the tray left by the four horses, Sergeant. We got the crooks to talk. They had a clever plan to throw us off their trail. An Indian took the horses to their hideout while they went to the hotel one by one after the robbery. We'll pick up that Indian for questioning, though for what we've learned, he didn't know the robbery. He may be able to tell us something of the gang's former operation, Sergeant. That's right. Golly, Whitey's really a hero, isn't he? Yes, Bobby, he is. He ought to be very proud of him. Oh, I am. How about it, Whitey? I guess I was wrong about Whitey. From now on, he's really one of the family. Good, Joe. I'm glad you feel that way. Whitey will be famous when this news gets out. And with the crooks in jail and the gold returned, this case is closed. In our next adventure, when a tunnel caved in, its owner died, everyone thought it was an accident until Sergeant Preston learned the truth. All right, Preston, sir. You know we killed Dan Clark, but you're not going to do anything about it. There's going to be another cave in Preston, and you'll die just the way Clark did. Disarmed and helpless, without even king to aid him, Sergeant Preston faces four killers who know that their only hope for security lies in the murder of the Mouty. How can Sergeant Preston overcome such odds? Be sure to hear this next exciting adventure. These radio dramas affect the lives of the people who have lost their lives. These radio dramas, a feature of the challenge of the Yukon Incorporated, are created by George W. Trendle, produced by Trendle Campbell Enterprises, directed by Fred Flower Day and edited by Fran Stryker. The part of Sergeant Preston is played by Paul Sutton. The challenge of the Yukon is brought to you every Saturday and Sunday. This is Jay Michael, wishing you good bye and good luck until our next adventure. Bye.