 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 Monod Police in his relentless pursuit of lawbreakers. Un-King! Un-New-Hush-King! 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 battled through storm and snow to preserve law and order as they met the challenge of the Yukon! Old Louis Lagarde, who ran the trading post at Moose Crossing, was loved by everyone who knew him. He extended credit to many and his honesty and generosity made him the most popular man in the community. Louis' big strong box where he kept his money was never empty. It wasn't overcrowded with Louis' profits, but many of his friends brought their gold to him for safekeeping when hordes of newcomers arrived after a gold strike on Bear Creek nearby. It was one evening in early spring that Hank Nelson brought in two bags of gold dust. Well, hello, Louis! Oh, Hank! Yeah, how are you? He's nice to see you. Me? I am feeling good like always. Well, I came in for some supplies. I brought a couple of bags of dust. Thought maybe you'd keep them for me. You soon get to be very rich man, Hank. Soon I must get bigger strong box for you to keep all your gold, eh? It's nice of you to keep it here for me. Oh, I'll make a trip to Dawson one these days and take it there. Me? I don't mind keeping it. So long as you trust me. Well, I keep it in my cabin, but I'm so far from everyone. A lot of funny-looking people have moved into territory lately. Wee! Wee! That I know. You have called me a two-toying. Yes, they're probably all honest enough. I don't like to risk getting my skull cracked open just because someone knows I've got a lot of gold here somewhere around the place. Many of my friends, they feel just like you. The strong box I have, she's too heavy to carry off so many bags of gold I keep for them. Say, I hear we're getting a mounted policeman up here soon. Wee! Wee! Now that so many people have gone, you have seen the view we have. I wondered what that new building was in town. I thought someone had built a fancy cabin. Oh, no, that is jail. Sam Peters is special constable to take care of prisoners. Well, let's hope he doesn't have to take care of any until the Mountie gets here. Sam isn't too bright. Oh, you want surprise now or in the morning? I'll get him in the morning, Louis. That's when I'm going back. You like to spend night here, maybe? No, thanks. I got a little poker game planned tonight with there Steve Bailey. Oh, he's good then. You leave these gold with me tonight. That was my idea. If I had it with me, I'd probably go back home without any supplies. Steve's a good poker player. Well, I guess I'd better get over there and try him a lot. I'll see you in the morning, Louis. Look, I will write your name on tag tied to this bag here. Thanks. Ah, she's doing real good. Yes, just one minute, boys. I'll be with you. Hey, that way, yes. You cannot mean... Pete, get those bags out of the box. No, you cannot take that, Gors. That's your idea. I got you covered and keep those hands up. I'd hurry up, Pete, before someone comes in. That storm's blowing up. He won't have any more customers. Please, that Gors, she's not mine. She belonged to my friend. It belongs to us. Now, we don't care whose gold it was. Hurry up, Pete. I've got all I can carry. No, I say you... Somebody will hear that. I had to shoot. He was swinging that axe at me. Here, take some of this and let's get out of here. Leave the rest of it. Get out to the sled query. Put them under these blankers. Now get the dog started quick. Mush! Mush, get along here. Do you think anyone heard that shot? It doesn't look like it. Nobody's around. I sure hope you didn't kill him. That'll mean a mounted police after us for sure. There's no money in this place. We'll get a good start. If it snows, we're safe. Joe, look ahead. There's a man coming this way. All right, keep going. Don't see anything to him. You may want to stop and talk. Howdy, boys. You might think it's funny we didn't answer. He couldn't take a chance. I hope he didn't get a good look at this dog. It's too dark, Pete. Those three white Siberians up front aren't hard to see in the dark. Maybe he didn't look at the dog team. There's something else we're in here. Yeah, this old pistol of mine. I wish I had a different gun. It's probably the only one in this territory that shoots a ball instead of a cartridge. If they ever catch us, it'll be a dead giveaway. Hey, why don't you throw it away? I got to keep it. It's the only one I have. We may need it. I wish you hadn't shot that Frenchman. Well, it's too late now. All we better think about is traveling day and night. Put a lot of miles between this place and us. The Frenchman, on his way to Louis' trading post, was hailed by a familiar voice. Hi there, Hank Nelson. How are you? Well, hello there, Al. Glad to see you. When did you get the towel? It came in last night. See, I hear you're doing pretty well in the dog raising business. You won that race last week to tell me. I've got to find... It's hard to keep dogs around here. So many new people have come in. In the office, it's good prices for them. It's hard to say no. You're going to Louis? Yeah, I need some tobacco. I'll walk along with you. You're right about the population increasing around here. The town looks bigger every time I come in. I kind of hate to see it. Last night, I passed two men in the street. They were going south with a five-dog team. I spoke to them, and they wouldn't even say howdy. It made me down right bad. Well... Oh, well, you're getting them out of here. Yep. I'm sure Hank should see them, too. I heard at the dog races that he has the smartest lead dog in the country. They say the sergeant Preston has trained him so that he can do almost everything with talk. Well, I'm not as interested in dogs as you are. But I'll be glad to see him bring some law and order around here. Hey, look. Rod Daylight and Louis Lanterns are all there. That is funny. Guess where his first customer is this morning? Maybe he's still asleep. Louis! Louis! Hey, Louis, where are you? Yeah, where do you suppose he... Oh, look. The strongbox is open. I wonder. Hank, Louis's here behind the counter. What? He's been shot. He's dead. There's an axe here beside him. Someone tried to rival him, I suppose. Louis tried to fight. He was trying to protect his friend's money, I'll bet. That bullet went right through him. Here's a bullet here in the wall. I think I can get it out. Who could have done this, do you think? Say, look at this bullet. It's round. It was fired from an old pistol. It wouldn't be hard to recognize the gun that came from. This must have happened after I left last night. Say, those two men I passed, I wonder if they could have been the ones. Were they coming from this direction? Yeah, and they were going as fast as they could. I don't suppose you could see them in the dark. No, I couldn't see their faces. One was a big fella, and you know me. I don't see a dog team. They had three white Siberian sled dogs up front. You couldn't miss them, even in the dark. Well, let's get some of the boys and trail them. There isn't anyone in town who won't want to get the man who did this. Everyone liked Louis. I'm with you. I've got the fastest dog team in this part of the territory. And if these murdering rats left any kind of trail last night, I'll guarantee to catch them. Tall mountains loomed into the clouds to the right of Joe and Pete as they plotted through the snow. It was noon of the following day, and the dog team was already exhausted from the fast pace they had held. Pete staggered with weariness and kept falling behind. Mush! Mush! Get going, you mongoose! Wait! I can't keep going any longer. We've got to stop for a while. Holy, holy, holy! We can't stop, Pete. We've got to keep going. Look at the trail we're leaving. Any ten-year-old kid could follow us. That was rotten luck. It's no stopping last night. Do you figure they have trailers? There's every chance in the world they will. Our trail probably showed plain as day from the front of the trading post right to here. All right, dog teams, about finished, too. Pressed them too hard. Look at those white Siberians. One of them has a lame foot, and I doubt that we'll be able to get the rest of them on their feet. That man we passed on the street last night got a look at these dogs. It'll be too bad for us. All we can do is hope he didn't notice them. Maybe we can hold up somewhere for a while along here. There ought to be some caves in these big cliffs along this trail. We traveled almost all night. What we had is about three hours' sleep. We got a rest. All right, we'll find a place to camp. Mush! On your feet, you mean to crawl. Mush! Mush! A short distance ahead of Pete and Joe, a dog team and sled was approaching them around the side of the mountain. A huge, gray dog ran free of the harness ahead of the team, looking back occasionally at his master, Sergeant Preston of the Northwest Monod Police who was on his way to Moose Crossing. Hunting! Hunting, you hussies! Suddenly there was an ominous sound from above them. Man and dog looked up in time to see a huge piece of the mountain crack with tons of ice and rock tumbling down the side. Frantic, the money urged them ahead. Mush! Mush on! Hussier, you hussies! Watch! Uncaped! The dogs realized the danger and strained forward in their traces to get out of the path of the avalanche. Straining with every muscle, the dogs pulled away from the hurtling death above them. They were out of the main path of it, but suddenly a small rock shot toward them, hitting Sergeant Preston. He pitched forward into the snow as the avalanche roared down behind him. Pete and Joe had stopped their dog team around the bend when they heard the roar of the mass of ice and rock. Hey, Pete, what's that? Was it thunder, do you think? It sounded more like an avalanche up there ahead, on the bend. Well, that ain't unusual around here. Rocks and ice are always falling down these mountains. Lucky for us we hadn't got around that bend. Come on, let's have a look. Wait a minute. Joe, do you hear a dog glisten? Yeah, that is a dog. Maybe we better be careful going around this bend. Wherever it's coming, it's coming from the other way. Not chasing us. Maybe we can get his dog team. All right. Come on, Mush! Get going there, Mush! Here's the bend in the trailer. Hey, look, Pete. That's the big guy coming toward us. Yeah, I wonder. Joe, look. There's a dog team, but nobody's driving it. Look at that dog. Hey, better keep your gun on him. He might attack us. Hey, stop. Look at him, Pete. He's running back and then stopping the bike. Looks as if he was trying to get us to follow him. There's a man lying in the snow beside that sled. That's what's wrong with the dog. He wants us to help the man. You think we better take a chance? From the looks of things, we won't be taking a chance. That man couldn't harm anybody. It's one of the biggest dogs I ever saw. He's our beauty. Yeah, look at the rest of the team. They're almost as good as he is. With that team, we can really make a getaway. Look at the rubble just behind it. That man just missed the avalanche. He didn't miss all of it. The rock must have knocked him out. Here we are. Hold, hold there, boys. Hold, hold there. All right, pooch. We're going to help him. Joe, hold it a second. Look, that's Amani. Amani, let's get out of here. Hey, not so fast. He can't hurt us. He's colder than a macro. Let's have a look at him. All right, fellow, we're going to help him. The dog sure came to get us to help him, all right? Look how he's watching us. Is that Amani dead, Pete? No, he ain't dead. He's got a nasty gash in his head. The rock must have hit him. Pete, let's not get mixed up with Amani. We're in bad enough trouble now. Yeah, he won't come to for hours. Maybe he never will. Think we could take his dog team? I got even a better idea. What? They're probably trailing us from Moose Crossing right now. Here's our chance to make the trail end right here. What are you talking about? They'll fire Joe. A fire? What for? I'm going to change clothes with him. We're about the same size. Why are you doing that? We'll put my clothes on and leave our dog tagging here with him and take his. Oh, you mean if they trail us this far, they'll think he was the one that did the kill? Hey, you catch on fast, don't you? He's probably got a good gun, too. We could plant this old one of mine on him and take his. Now you're talking. Yeah. What if someone back in Moose Crossing knows him? That's a gamble we'll have to take. Now come on, we've got to work fast. I don't like the way that big dog keeps watching. He just wants us to do something to help Amani. Hey, nice dog. Don't worry, fella. We're going to do something for him. Don't worry, pooch. The big dog king watched anxiously as the two men undressed his master before the fire. Sergeant Preston groaned as they moved him about, but he didn't regain consciousness. The great dog whined helplessly. He knew only humans could help his master, and these men were handling him gently as they talked in low tones to each other. Pete, I just thought of something. What? Don't they think it's funny if they find him here but instead of fire? They follow our trail. They'll know that there were two of us. This'll make it look as if one of us decided he wanted all the gold. Come on, I'm ready to go. Let's go. I'm afraid we ain't going to get that dog away from him. We don't need him anyway. Let him stay here. I'll turn the Mounties team around. Nobody'd know he was Amani in those clothes, even if he does get conscious. You're probably freezed when the fire dies down. I don't think you'll do any talking. There's a blizzard blowing up there. Come on. We'll put a lot of distance between us and this Mountie and find a place to hole in. Al Rankin and Hank Nelson were close on the trail of the killers as they neared the mountains. Al's champion dog team, with Hank sitting on the sled and Al riding the runners, had outdistance the rest of the posse who were far in the rear. They had almost approached the spot where Sergeant Preston saw the dying fire when suddenly the blizzard struck. The wind hurled tiny flecks of ice into their faces and the air was thick with falling snow. Oh, hello boys. Hello there. There's no use going any further, Hank. You just get off the trail. This is a lucky break for those dirty buzzards. The snow will cover their tracks from here on. I guess we'd better get over in the shell of those cliffs until this storm blows over. Hey, look. Is that a dog coming through the snow? Yeah. And what a dog. What's wrong, old boy? Hey, what's the matter with him? Where do you suppose he came from? Say, maybe he's part of the team we're chasing. Something might have happened to him. We'll go after him. Right. Mush! Mush! Get along there, you little bush! Morning sunlight streaming through a window dazzled Sergeant Preston's eyes as he awoke. As he raised his head, a sharp pain zigzag through it and he sank back with a groan. Then you heard the click of a lock. So you finally decided to snap out of it. Where am I? You're just where you ought to be, you thief on murder and skunk. You're in jail. In jail? How'd I get here? We trailed you, that's how. Guess when you murdered Louis, you forgot we had a man in this town with a champion dog team. He caught up with you. What are you talking about? Your partner got away. He slapped you on the head with a rock and disappeared. The blizzard covered these tracks. But you're the one who done the murder. We found the gun on you. Murder? What murder? That rock sure done things to your memory. I don't suppose you remember robbing and killing old Louis in the trading post. Louis, I don't know what you're talking about. No. Well, you better start knowing a lot of things. Who your partner was, for instance? I'm Sergeant Preston of the Northwest Mounted Police. Say it pays to get hit on the head with a rock. Well, I'm the Queen of England, bud. I'm glad to know you. But I am Sergeant Preston. And that's carrying my dog. He wants to get in a cell with you. I had to let him stay in the jail here. He made such a con son fuss. I have to admit he's a fine dog. It was on account of him that Alan Hank found you. The blizzard started and they almost gave up looking for you. But that dog sure let him to you. He didn't do you no favor, though. He will hang now instead of freezing. Freezing would have been easier. Well, I tell you, I am Sergeant Preston. My uniform. Your uniform? You call them old clothes a uniform? Oh, clothes. Well, these aren't my clothes. No. I suppose the dog team you had with three white dogs in a row isn't your dog team, either. That's the team Al recognized, the night of the murder. Tell me what happened from the beginning. Oh, quit putting on an act, mister. If you think I'm going to make a fool of myself telling you things you already know, you're crazier than you think I am. Who are you? I have been made a special constable here to take care of the jail. It looks as though I'm going to have my hands full, too. The boys all like Louie, and the savings you and your partner stole all belong to them. If I ain't badly mistaken, they might be interested in a little necktie party as soon as they know you're a constable. Hey, what's wrong with that dog? That sounds like a crowd of the boys now. I'd better get out of here and lock this cell door. Are you conscious yet? Take it easy, boys. We don't want any trouble. Sam, you don't mean to say that you're going to take this new job or you're seriously going to come? Well, Sam's right, boys. We'd better wait until that Mountie gets here. Well, you're the one who knows his guilty ass. You caught him. I've been stringing him up before the Mountie gets here. Well, boys, as for me, I done my duty trying to stop you. It'll go on the record that I objected. I can't help what you do from here on. I knew Sam would be with us. Let's get the murder out of there, Sam. Hey, look at that dog backing up against the cell door. Yeah. I ain't going to let us near that man without a fight. You know what that murderer in Kyle said? What? He said he was Sergeant Preston in the Northwest Mounted Police and that this was his lead dog, King. Sergeant Preston, you've made a mistake. This is my lead dog, King. That's what a crack on the head will do for you, boys. Come on, boys. Let's not waste any more time with you. Hey, somebody's going to have to shoot that dog first. Sam, wait a minute, boys. That's a mighty fine dog. Best-looking animal I've ever seen. That murderer in Chief probably stole him somewhere. I've heard a lot about Sergeant Preston's dog, King. This is King. And if you've heard about him, you know he won't obey anyone but me. Let's give him a try, boys. If you've all heard about that dog, let's make him prove what he says. Oh, he's just lying. What's the use of wasting time? I'll prove it to you. This dog can do things no other dog can do. That's big talk, stranger. I've raised some fine dogs myself. Will you give me a fair chance to prove it to you? Yeah, let's do it, boys. We have lots of time. What do you say? Let's do it for a laugh, fellas. All right, we got plenty of time. Now, let's see what he can do. Unlock the door and let me off for a minute. I ain't going near that door with that animal snorlin' animal. It won't hurt you if I show him off, though. Sound, King. Daddy boy. Quiet, fella. I'll throw me the keys if you're afraid of him. There they are. Let yourself out. And don't try to get away. I'm not that foolish. In two weeks to fight one man, let alone half a dozen. All right, boy. Daddy, now. All right. How you gonna prove he's King? Is there any special thing you've heard he can do? No, I just heard he was smart and the president taught him things other dogs can't do. I'll hold him here facing this way. You boys stand in the semicircle and one of you throw a mitten on the floor. Here, King. Come here, boy, or you can't see them. All right, boys. Do what he says. How about you putting the mitten down in front of us? All right, sure. There. All right. What's the dog going to do? He'll return it to the owner. King, smell this mitten, fella. Find the owner, boy. Find him. Great dog seemed to know that a lot depended on him. He sniffed at the mitten, then slowly circled the men before him. When he came to hank, he stopped. Looked back at Sergeant Preston and barked. All right, boy. Come and take to him. Well, by golly, he's doing it. Hey, that's pretty smart. I sure knows what to do when he's cold. I say that don't prove a thing. What? Lots of dogs could do that. Anyhow, with a good nose, can be trained to do a trick like that. All he has to do is get the scent. That don't prove he's King or prove that this man's a mali either. All right. Well, I guess you're right, Sam. Identifying a set isn't too wonderful. Of course, he does obey an order well. So do your dogs, Al. I bet with a little training you can teach your lead dog to do that. Sounds right. Yes, I guess it's true, all right. I thought the fact I had trained him to do this might convince him. You've got a smart dog, Mr. But this is probably just a trick to get yourself out of a bed. All right. Let's try something else. Is anyone here a gun? Sam's got one. Sure. I'm taking care of the jail, ain't I? Are you quite fast on the draw, Sam? I sure am. That's one of the reasons I got the job. Good. Now, I want you to draw your gun and shoot me. What's the idea? He's crazy. He's shooting me, Sam. Well, now, I don't exactly see... You told me you'd let me prove something. Please do as I ask. Maybe you're figuring you'd rather be shot than hung. Is that it? It's up to you whether you aim to kill or not. Well, if you hit him in the shoulder, Sam, we can still hang him back. Come on, Sam, go ahead. Try it, Sam. This guy's local. Well, you're all witnesses of the asperger. Louie was a good friend of mine. Killing his murderer will be a pleasure. Oh, no! Oh, no! My hand! Take him off! Help! I can't. Oh, my boy, get back. Of course, did you ever see anything so fast? Sam just barely got the gun out of the holster. All right, King. Bring me his gun, boy. They're on the floor. Thank you, King. Good work, fella. Hey, hey, he's got my gun. Don't worry. I'm not going to use it. Well, boys, I'm convinced. I never saw anything like that. That sure was wonderful. Some dog in here. I still don't think that proves he's a manly dog. Hey! What's going on in here? Well, hello, Jeb. This is Jeb Wilkins, the mailman. Hello, Jeb. How are you, Jeb? Well, just brought the mail. They said you were having a lynching over here. They are, Jeb. They're thinking of hanging me. Well, well, if it ain't Sergeant Preston. And here's King. What is this? A joke? I almost didn't know you in them clothes. He is a monk. Maybe that's a good thing we waited. There's been a bad mistake. I'm sorry, Sergeant Preston. I'm Al Rankin. If your dog met me, I'd like to shake hands. Back, King. It's all right, fella. I'd be glad to, Al. Well, of all the dumb things I ever heard of, trying to hang the best mountain in the North Country. I just can't tell you how silly we all feel. That's all right, Al. I've heard about you. I plan to look you up when I got here. I'd like to see those prize dogs of yours. Now, if you boys don't mind, I'd like to lie down in a little week. Then he is, Sergeant Preston. Find a way to start out with him, Sam. Trying to hang him and almost shooting him. Is your hand all right, Sam? It's crass a little. My Parker protected me. Do you mind if I use this cot here in the cell? I sure don't mind, Sergeant. You keep the keys. And if you're going to take that dog in the cell with you, I'd rather you lock the door. Al, would you come in with me? I'd like to hear everything that happened. Sure, I'd be glad to tell you. You see, Louis Lagarde used to keep a lot of gold in a strong box for the boys. So that's all I can tell you, Sergeant. We went after them and got you. The last thing I remember is I'd have a lunch. They must have found me, planted that gun on me, and taken my dog team, leaving the one that could be identified. I'm surprised that dog of yours let him do it. King probably thought they were trying to help me. When they took the team, he wouldn't leave me. So now I guess they get away. Maybe not. They're headed for the border. Can I send a telegram from this town? Sure. Get me a paper and pencil, Al. I'm going to send a description of my dog team to the authorities in Eagle City. When the killers arrive there, they get quite a surprise. Are you going to go there? Yes, I am. You need a good dog team, and I'm providing it. And what's more, I'm going along all the way to Eagle City. In a jail in Eagle City, just across the border on the Alaska side, Pete and Joe argued with the United States constable. You can't hold us here. It ain't legal. We never committed a crime in the United States. I guess you haven't heard that the United States authorities always cooperate with the mounted police. We've been here almost a week, and for what? Just for trying to go through your rotten town. We're holding you because you're suspected of stealing a dog team. That's all I can tell you. Except that you won't be held much longer. I think this man will tell us whether you're guilty or not. Joe, look. That's a dog. Hello, constable. Did you see the dog team, Sergeant Preston? Yes, it's mine, all right. We've, uh, made out all the proper papers. Is it all right if I take these minutes of me now? It sure is. Take us. Take us where? Back to the Yukon temporary. You're under arrest for robbery and murder. He said it was for stealing the sledding dogs. Oh, that'll be another charge against you two. You know, it was a very clever idea, boys. It almost worked. Only trouble was, this time you stole the wrong dog team. Yes, King, thanks to you, this case is closed. The challenge of the Yukon, a copyrighted feature, 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. El Proud speaking, this program came to you from Detroit. There is no such thing as an airtight case. Some criminals hide their tracks well so that they seem to leave no evidence behind. But experts such as United States government treasury agents know that no case is impossible to crack and no clue too unimportant. On a recent Treasury agents show, it was pointed out that Treasury agents gather bits of information from all over the world on sometimes a thousand suspects at the same time. Occasionally these bits of information will pyramid until they take on gigantic proportions and help solve the case. Treasury agents don't dismiss any clue they can't afford to. For the members of the largest and mightiest law enforcement agency in the world, know the caliber of the criminals they deal with. Every Thursday night, you'll want to hear every exciting moment of the Treasury agent program. Treasury agents will be heard over this...