 Now, as gunshots echo across the wind-swept snow-covered reaches of the wild northwest, Quakerpuff wheat and Quakerpuff rice, the breakfast cereal shot from guns, present the challenge of the Yukon. It's Yukon King, swiftest 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 Huskies! 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 Quakerpuff wheat and Quakerpuff rice bringing you the adventures of Sergeant Preston and his Wonder Dog Yukon King as they meet the challenge of the Yukon. Say, fellas and girls, do you and your pals have a swapping club? And do you ever collect or swap trading cards? Or have you ever wanted to? Well man, oh man, there's nothing more fun. So keep your ears open. In just a few minutes, Quakerpuff wheat and Quakerpuff rice, the swell-tasting breakfast cereal shot from guns, are making you an offer that's out of this world. Don't miss it. Keep listening. In the winter of 98, the Northwest Mounted Police carried the mail between the Gold Rush capital of Dawson and the Saltwater Port of Skagway. The mail was carried in 30-mile relays. At each relay point, a driver with a fresh dog team was waiting to take over and speed the mail sacks to the next Mountie post along the route. It was early one morning in December that Corporal Eden started out from Dawson City and what he supposed would be just another of these routine mail runs. Is that the last mail sack? Yep, that's all, Corporal. And I'll be on my way. Hey you, co-buck, line up the team. All right. Mushroom Huskies! Hello! Corporal Eden had covered about 20 miles of his run without incident when suddenly, as he rounded a bend in the trail... Not that team, buddy! What's the idea then, Mass, mister? Never mind the Mass. Just get your hands up in the air and keep Mass. Sorry, but the Mounted Police don't take orders of that sort. You'll take this order? Just to make sure you don't watch what I'm gonna do. Guess that'll keep him quiet for a while. Now let's get a look at those mail sacks. Removing his Mass, the whole upman began searching through the mail sacks. Finally, he found what he was looking for. Here it is right here. A young Johnny Allardice mining company to give it in force. I see that'll wash him. The whole upman tucked the letter inside his parka. Then he replaced the mail sacks on the sled. Now then, Mully, I'm gonna heave you up on top of those sacks. All right, go ahead, you Huskies. Mush! Mush, you Huskies! Young Johnny Allardice had come to the Klondike less than two months ago to take over the operation of his late uncle's mine. In that time, he had managed to fall in love with pretty Rita Trent. The same morning that the Skagway mail was held up, Johnny had come to visit Rita in the lobby of her father's hotel in Dawson City. He had something important to tell her. Rita, yesterday evening I mailed a letter. To some girl you left back in the States. Oh, fat girls. There's never been any girl but you and there never will be. No, Rita, this letter wasn't to any girl. It was to a Seattle law firm. It sounds important. It was mighty important. Because it may determine whether you and I can ever get married. Johnny, what do you mean? Your father's worth half a million. And I haven't got a penny. You know, Donwell will never let you marry me unless I can make a clean up. I think I'll have something to say about that. Of course you will. And I hope it'll be yes. But that doesn't all of the fact that I'm broke. I still don't see what all this has to do with a letter to Seattle. Now listen to me, Rita. When Uncle George died, his will gave me a choice. I could either take a flat request of $20,000 or else I could take over the ownership of the Allerdice mine. But I thought you were just managing the mine. That was part of the arrangement. The will stipulated that I could come to the Klondike and manage the mine for two months. At the end of that time I had to decide between taking the mine or the $20,000. When do you have to let them know? On January 15th. I haven't notified the estate lawyers by that time. The mine automatically passes out of my hands and I receive a cash settlement instead. $20,000 is a small fortune, Johnny. Dad certainly couldn't object if you had that much. I'm not taking the $20,000, Rita. I've written the lawyers that I want the mine instead. Oh, Johnny, was that wise? Everybody's saying that your uncle's mine, as Peter does. I know what they're saying, but I think they're wrong. I've got a hunch that we haven't touched the motherload yet. Johnny, it doesn't make any difference to me whether you're rich or poor. But for your sake, I hope you're right. The first relay point for the Skagway Mail was located at the mouth of the Indian River. Sergeant Preston and his great dog, King, had stopped off at the Indian River Post. And as they relaxed before the stove, the sergeant chatted with the Mouty driver who was standing by to take over the mail from Corporal Eden. I noticed your team hitched up outside by and be making a mail run today. Well, I expected to, Sergeant. But I'm beginning to wonder if they haven't changed the schedule. What's the matter? Corporal Eden late getting in from Dawson? He should have been here an hour ago. Snow's been coming down pretty heavily. He may have ran into some bad drifts. What's the matter, King? He may have heard the Corporal's team coming. You're right. That is a dog team. I'll put on my parking car and take a look. All right, I'll come with you. I love a mic. The team's got no driver. I was there all night. He's lying on the sled. Come on. Hold her! Hold her! Hold her! What's the matter with you, Sergeant? He's been shot. Help me carry him inside. All right. A short time later, Sergeant Preston had dressed the Corporal's wound and was bringing him round with a few sips of brandy. Take it easy, fellow. You've got a pretty nasty wound in your shoulder. Sergeant Preston, how did I get here? Your team brought you in, Corporal. You're lying across the mail-sikes on your sled. Oh, is that a lump I feel in my head? Yes, and a good-sized one, too. Whoever shot you, haven't they hit you on the head for good measure? Do you remember what happened? Up to a certain point, a mask man held me up ten miles back. A masked man? Yeah, he threatened me with a gun. He refused to put on my hands, and I guess he'd shot me. That's all I remember. I took a look at the mail sack, Sergeant, while you were bandaging the Corporal. And he's finally been tampered with? I'm pretty sure someone's ransacked two of them. The letters were crammed in every which way. And some of the envelopes are streaked with moisture, as though they've been exposed to the snow. I went through two of the sacks. He must have been looking for something in particular and found it. Should I go ahead and run the mail down to Overby? No, Bob, I think we'd better take the sacks back to Dawson and see if the post office people can tell us what's missing, Corporal. You think you'll be strong enough to travel after you've rested up an hour or so? Any time you say, Sergeant. Good. I'd like you to show me the spot where the holdup occurred. Leaving the Indian River Post, the three Maudis traveled north toward Dawson. In about an hour and a half, they came to the scene of the crime. The criminals' tracks had been covered over by new fallen snow. But in a sheltered spot a few yards back from the trail, Sergeant Preston found some clearly defined prints. Looks like he had a sled parked here. Yes, he probably took shelter here when he waited for the mail to come by. How does those Marcus and Prince select ones? There's sort of a V-shaped mark on them. What are you supposed to cause that? Hard to say, Bob. He's been torn and then sewn up again. Yes. The seam would do it. Oh, King, what about it? You got the scent? Which way do you head, boy? Looks like he headed for Dawson. He's going to make it tough for King. Now, what do you mean, Sergeant? The minute he gets to town, he'll have to start untangling the criminals' scent from thousands of others. We'll just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. It was evening when Sergeant Preston and the other two Maudis arrived in Dawson. King had lost the trail on the outskirts of town due to the confusion of scents. The sergeant deposited Corporal Eden at the hospital, then took the mail sacks to the post office, where he found a clerk still on duty. I thought those mail sacks be halfway to self-cooked by now, Sergeant. They would be. Someone hadn't held up the driver. A hold up? What was taken? That's what I'm hoping you can tell me. You people keep a record of all the mail you ship outside, don't you? Yes, we do, Sergeant. You see, we had lost one of the first batches we sent out. Yes, I remember that. Mail sled went through the ice on the Hooded Lincoln River, didn't it? That's right, and the driver, Durnier, went through with it. The whole mail shipment was lost. Ever since then, we've kept a record of every letter that goes out of this post office, just in case. When you say you keep a record, does that mean you list the name and address on each letter? We list the name and address that the letter's going to and the sender's name and address too, if it's on the envelope. Then you should be able to tell if any letter or letters are missing from these mail sacks. I don't see why not. Of course, it may take a while. It was midnight before the job was completed. Well, Sergeant, every letter and package on the list is accounted for except one. What's missing? A letter addressed to a firm called Gifford and Forsythe in Seattle, Washington. You know who sent it? Yes, it was the Allardice Mining Company. The Allardice Mining Company, eh? That's the outfit that young Johnny Allardice is managing, isn't it? That's right. In fact, it was Johnny who posted the letter. I remember him coming in yesterday evening. Well, thanks very much for your help. It shouldn't be too hard to find out who wanted that particular letter. And when we do, I think we'll have the man who robbed the Skagway Mail. Early the next morning, Sergeant Preston went to the Allardice Mine, which was located about two miles east of Dawson. He was greeted by a burly, weather-beaten man. What can I do for you, Sergeant? I'm looking for Johnny Allardice. He went to town a little more than an hour ago. Your name's York, isn't it? Yep. That's my handle. I helped Johnny run the mine here. Maybe you can help me. Well, try. Yesterday, the Skagway Mail was held up. What? Well, that'll be dog-gone. Do they get anything valuable? Apparently, the only thing that was taken was a letter from the Allardice Mining Company to a firm called Gifford and Forsythe in Seattle. I'd like to know what was in that letter and why anyone might want to steal it. Well, now, that don't make no sense at all, Sergeant. What do you mean? That letter wasn't valuable at all with just a routine report on the operation of the mine. Who are Gifford and Forsythe? No, they're the law outfit that's handling old George Allardice's estate. George used to own the mine, but he died a couple of months ago. I see. You folks have to report regularly into the estate lawyers? Yeah, that's right. But like I say, the report was just routine red tape. It wasn't valuable at all. That's odd. Well, perhaps the post office made a mistake. Maybe something else was stolen from the bag. Money orders or something of that sort, we don't know, but... There must be, Ed. Well, that case, I won't bother you any further. Thanks for the information. Come on, King. Oh, mention it, Sergeant. Glad to be your help. Moundy, that was mighty thoughtful of you to come around while Johnny was out. Kind of scared me for a minute. But I guess this takes care of everything. We'll continue our story in just a moment. Fellows, girls, here's how you can start collecting the keen, swellest, most terrific trading cards you've ever seen. I mean the new official challenge of the Yukon dog picture cards. Yes, delicious Quaker Puffed Wheat and Quaker Puffed Rice are offering every single one of you these dog picture cards at no extra cost. These dog cards are the real McCoy. They are stiff back with the same shiny glossy finish as game cards. Each card is a beautiful true-to-life photograph of a real dog. Only Quaker Puffed Wheat and Quaker Puffed Rice have them. There are 35 different cards in all. 35 famous breeds of dogs are yours, and they don't cost you a single extra penny. There are popular dogs you all know and recognize, like Collie, English Bulldog, and Cocker Spaniel. There are dogs you may be never even heard of, like Schnauzer or Saluki or the Otterhound, a powerful web-footed underwater swimming breed that hunts the fighting otter. The dogs are real dogs. Many are champions of their breed. The photographs in full color are authentic. And listen to this. One of these trading cards is of King himself. Yes, Yukon King, the greatest husky in the North country. On the back of every card, Sergeant Preston tells you what the dog is like. Whether he's a sporting dog, like Foxhound, or a working dog, like Shetland Sheepdog, or whether the dog is an alert watchdog, or learns tricks easily. Don't wait to start collecting these terrific dog picture trading cards. You'll be the envy of everyone. Here's the only way to get them. And mind you, they're yours at no extra cost. Simply go to your grocer. Ask for the special new packages of Quaker Puffed Wheat and Quaker Puffed Rice. Inside each package, you'll find not one but two of these keen dog picture cards. There's no waiting, no delay, and nothing to send in. No money, no coupons, no box stops. And you get two different cards in each package. Ask for Quaker Puffed Wheat and Quaker Puffed Rice. Get both delicious kind. Then you'll have four of these official challenge of the Yukon dog picture cards in no time at all. That's how easy it is to collect them. So save them, swap them. Start now and get the complete set. Now to continue our story. When Sergeant Preston went to the Allardyze mine to investigate the letter that had been stolen from the Skagway mail sacs, York, the foreman, told him that the letter had been merely a routine report on the operation of the mine. The sergeant pretended to believe him. But after leaving the mine office, he remarked to King, Don't worry, fellow. We're not going to drop this investigation just on his say so. He was a little too anxious to convince us that letter was unimportant. When we got back to Dawson, we were going to hut up Johnny Allardyze and ask him what was in that letter. All right, fellow, out front. One, two, three! Sergeant Preston located Johnny Allardyze shortly after he arrived back in town. He questioned him about the contents of the letter. What would have happened if that letter didn't get to Gifford and Forsyth? I'd lose the mine. How so? My option runs out on January 15th. The letter doesn't reach the lawyers by that time. The mine automatically passes out of my hands and I have to take the bequest instead. Would your mind, Foreman York, have any reason for wanting you to lose the mine? I don't think so. What makes you ask that? Because York lied to me about the contents of that letter. Lied to you? When I questioned him a little while ago, he told me the letter merely contained a routine report on the operation of the mine, said it wasn't of any importance. I think we'd better go back to the mine and have a talk with York right now. A short time later, Sergeant Preston and Johnny Allardyze confronted the burly Foreman at the mine office. York's face bore a look of bland innocence as he listened to Johnny's angry accusation. Listen, York, what's the idea of lying to Sergeant Preston about that letter? Lie? Why don't get it, Johnny? You know what I'm talking about. Why did you tell him that letter was just a routine report on mine operation? Wasn't it? I sent out that monthly report two weeks ago. Oh, Doug Gondiff, that ain't right. Johnny, that plum slipped my mind. I told you last week I was going to write the lawyers and tell them I decided to take them on. Yeah, yeah, I do remember now that you mentioned it. I guess I was kind of mixed up. That Doug Gond report goes out every few weeks, and when the Sergeant asked me, I just naturally assumed that that's what it was. I wonder if you're lying. York, were you at the mine all day yesterday? I sure was, Sergeant. Hey, you don't think I pulled that hold up, do you? No one's accusing you of anything. Just answer my questions. If this mine were put up for sale, would you want to buy it? Well, that's a funny question, but if you want a straight answer, no. Why not? It's just about petered out, if you ask me. I take it you don't agree with that, Johnny. No, I don't, Sergeant. I know it's not producing much right now, but... Holy smoke. Smeller. I just realized, if that letter was stolen, I'm going to have to write another one and get it mailed. You said you brought the mail sacks back to Dawson, didn't you, Sergeant? I did, but they were shipped out again this morning about an hour ago. Then there won't be another mail shipment for another two weeks. That's right. If I wait till then, the letter won't possibly reach Seattle in time. I've got to catch up with that mail sled. Tell you what, Johnny, you write that letter and give it to me. I think my team can overtake the mail sled without too much trouble. Sergeant, I'll sure be grateful if you will. As the sergeant left the mine office a short time later, Johnny stepped outside to see him off. What's wrong with King? I guess he's found something over by the mine shaft. All right, boy. We'll come over and have a look. Just a bunch of footprints. I don't see... King recognizes those footprints instead of I. You see that V-shaped mark on the left prints? Yes. What about it? We found the same kind of prints at the scene of the mail holdup. Let's see what York has to say about this. Hey, York, come on over here a minute. York, do you know who made these prints? Those must be Stevens prints. Who's Stevens? He's a fellow who works for us off and on when he's sober. He's got a cabin down the creek always. Did you talk to him, York? Yes, Sergeant, I did. Come around a little while after you left. What do you want? Want to know if we were going to be needing him for the next couple of days. He said if we didn't, he wanted to make a trip up to 40 miles. What did you tell him? I told him to go ahead. Which way to go when he left you? Well, he took the trail toward town. He had his sled all loaded for the trip, so then I guess he was probably on his way to 40 miles. Johnny, I'm afraid I won't be able to take your letter after all. I have to go after Stevens. Do you mean that Stevens is a man who pulled the hold up? He is, if these are his footprints. Do you know where I can hire a fast dog team in a hurry? Probably get a team in Dawson from Frenchie to Four. Come on, I'll take you to town on my sled. A few moments later, the sergeant drove away from the mine. As he reached the creek trail, he turned right toward town. Gee, King! Gee! The King seldom questioned his master's commands, but this time he protested. His nostrils told him that the criminal had gone not toward town, but in the opposite direction. I said, Gee, fella, that's what I mean. Gee! The sergeant's word was law, and King obeyed without further protest. About half a mile from the cabin, Sergeant Preston halted the team. Okay! What are we starving for, Sergeant? Sorry, Johnny, but you're going to have to go the rest of the way on foot. Whatever you say, Sergeant. But how come you changed your mind? You notice how King acted when we headed toward town? Yes, he seemed to want to go the other way. That was because he knew Stevens went the other way. What? I thought York... York lied to us, which means he's in cahoots with Stevens. Stevens probably went back to his cabin. I'm willing to bet York saw this way there right now. To warn him you're after him. Right. What are you going to do? I'm going to trail York. If he does go to Stevens' cabin, we'll have him dead to rights. Sergeant Preston was right. York had gone to Stevens' cabin. What are you doing here? That Mountie Preston just found out you pulled the Skagway mailhold up. What's that? I didn't tell him nothing. You left a bunch of footprints in the snow when you were up at the mine this morning. Preston spotted him as the same prints he saw at the scene of the hold-up. How could he recognize my foot? Yeah, maybe you're right at that. Must have been this rip on the sole of my left moccasin. I guess that was it. Where's Preston now? I told him a cock and bull story about you going to Forty Mile. That's where he's headed now. What's going to happen when he gets there and finds you lied to him? We'll worry about that later. The worst comes to the worst, we can always settle him with a bullet. Kill a Mountie, are you crazy? Listen, if we can keep Johnny Allard eyes from getting at mine, we'll be able to buy it for ourselves for a few thousand bucks. You know as well as I do, it's worth at least a quarter of a million. You think I'm going to let any red coat stand between me and that kind of money? You're crazy. Yeah, it's a lot of money all right. Good thing nobody knows you found that rich gold streak just before Johnny came up here from the States. Don't worry, I covered it up against those no one will find it. Well, what's the next move? Now listen, Johnny's on his way to Dawson. He's written another copy of that letter that you stole and he's going to hire a fast dog team to catch up with the mail slave. We'll have to stop him. That's just what we're going to do. We'll go to the Yukon Trail. Yeah, and then what? We'll find some place to hide. When Johnny comes by, we'll shoot all his huskies. What if Johnny tries to find out who's doing the shooting? In that case, we'll have to shoot him too. Meanwhile, Sergeant Preston had doubled back toward the mine. Finding York gone, he had left his sled near the mine office and proceeded on foot with King. The great dog led his master straight to Stephen's camp. But by the time King and the sergeant arrived at the cabin, the two crooks were already on their way to ambush Johnny Allardice. We know Stephen's has a sled, yet it's nowhere in sight. Why are they gone somewhere, boy? Just to be on the safe side, I think we'd better sneak out and take a look through that window. They've gone all right, but I know where. They're going to cut over land with the Yukon Trail and try to stop Johnny. Come on, King, we'll get the sled and come back here and pick up their trail. An hour later, York and Stephen's were crouching in their hiding place on a hill overlooking the Yukon Trail when they sighted a dog team approaching the distance. Hey, who's that? He's coming from the same direction we did. Smoke, it's that Mounty Preston. I can tell by that loose lead dog. You mean he's on our trail? What do you think he's doing? Chasing butterflies? Must have known that I was lying to him about you going to 40 mile. That dog of his has trailed us here. What are we going to do? Now listen, scramble down this slope and lie face down there on the trail. Act like you're dead. That'll take his attention. He'll come up to take a look at you. When he does, I'll get the drop on him from behind. Maybe that's not a bad idea. It's a plenty smart idea. You hurry up and do like I say before he gets around the hill and sees you. As Sergeant Preston rounded the hill and came in sight of the body lying on the trail, King growled. Hello, King. Hold it, King. This may be a trick. Unholstering his gun, Sergeant Preston advanced cautiously toward the body. Suddenly, from the hill behind him, a voice rang out. Drop that gun, Preston. I got you right in my sights. The sergeant's first impulse was to whirl in fire. But he realized that York was probably behind cover. For the moment, there was nothing to do but obey the crook's command. I've dropped it. Now what? Stevens, you can get up now. Hey, that dog's coming after you. Stop that dog, Preston or I'll plug him. Hold it, King. Steady boy. Well, Moundy, I guess you weren't so smart after all. It's not enough to figure out your game, York. I take it the Allardyce mine isn't quite as worthless as you've been claiming it is. That's right. It isn't. No one else knows that. When the estate lawyers don't hear from Johnny Allardyce, it'll be put up for sale. And Stevens and me will buy it for us all. And what do you intend to do with me? Ha-ha. You don't think we can let you keep on living now that you're wise to us, do you? What are we going to do? I'm gonna knock Preston on the head. You and I are going to drop his body through the ice. Right into the Yukon River. It'll be spring before they fish out, Preston. And if they ever do, they'll think it was just an accidental drown. What about his team and his slant? He'll drive the team out on thin ice. Just let nature take its course. York, you're one smart critter. All right, Preston, turn around. You keep him covered, Stevens. Crooks were both holding six shooters. But as York grasped his gun by the barrel to smash the butt down on Preston's head, King saw that only one gun was now pointed at his master. With a snarl, he sprang at Stevens' gunhand. Instantly, the sergeant whirled and drove his fist to York's jaw. Are you? York was knocked off balance as gun flew from his hand. As Sergeant Preston followed up his advantage with a brage of blows, King drove Stevens back and finally knocked him off his feet. Help! Help! Get this dog off of me! A second later, the sergeant landed a smashing right. York trumbled to the ground. You're gonna call him off, Preston? On guard, boy, while I got their guns. All right, Stevens, on your feet and help York up. A moment later, the two crestfallen crooks faced the sergeant solemnly. You're both under arrest in the name of the Queen. You'll stand trial for robbing the mail and attempted murder. And just in case you're interested, I intend to see that Johnny's letter reaches its destination on time. York, you and your confounded smart schemes! It'll work if it hadn't been for that dog. Yes, York, they probably would have, for the time being, the law would have caught up with you sooner or later. This case is closed. In just a moment, Sergeant Preston will give you a preview of Monday's adventure. Don't put it off another day. Start collecting official challenge of the Yukon dog picture cards. Remember, you now get not one, but two of these terrific new dog picture cards inside each package. There are 35 different cards in all. A complete set of 35 famous breeds of dogs. These keen stiff-backed cards have any trading cards you've ever seen beat a mile. They feature beautiful color photographs of real, authentic dogs. You get King himself. These official dog picture cards are yours at no extra cost. And you get two cards inside each package, so hurry to your grocer. Ask for Quaker Puff Tweet and Quaker Puff Rice. Get both delicious kinds. That way, you'll get four cards right off. It's that easy to collect challenge of the Yukon dog picture cards. So get a move on. Start today. These radio dramas, a feature of the challenge of the Yukon Incorporated, are created and produced by George W. Trendall, directed by Fred Flower Day, and supervised by Charles D. Livingston. The part of Sergeant Preston is played by Paul Sutton. They are brought to you every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the same time by Quaker Puff Tweet and Quaker Puff Rice. The breakfast cereal shot from guns. Listen, Monday, when Sergeant Preston and Yukon King meet the challenge of the Yukon in the case of the counterplan. When King and I went to Fort River to help catch a gang of crooks, I found a leader to be smarter than I thought. The constable and I planned to trap him, but he had a counterplan with the result that we were the ones who wrote into a trap. Be sure to hear this exciting adventure Monday. This is J. Michael, wishing you good bye, good luck, and good health from Quaker Puff-