 The challenge of the Yukon. One king! One new husky! The wonder dog king, swiftest and strongest of Eskimoly dogs, places the trail through storm and snow for Sergeant Preston, as he meets the challenge of the Yukon. Sergeant Preston was typical of the small band of northwest-mounted police who preserved law and order in the new northwest country where the greed for wealth and power led to frequent violence and bloodshed. But in spite of the odds against them, Sergeant Preston and his wonder dog king met that challenge and justice ruled triumphant. There was a look of anticipation on the face of Inspector Grayson of northwest-mounted police. He sat at his desk before Sergeant Preston and his big lead dog king who stood close to his master. The inspector would never admit it, but he enjoyed getting the report his favorite officer. Perhaps it was the way the sergeant told the story, or again, it might have been that Sergeant Preston's reports were usually more exciting, as his assignments were difficult and dangerous. The inspector smiled as he looked at the younger Mountie. Well, sit down, sergeant. I'd like to hear about this case from the beginning. My dog king. Hey, I hear. Yes, sir. Well, let's have the story from the very beginning. The last time I saw Sam Higgins, he was in the gold nugget bar drinking with his friend and neighbor, Nate Smith. Nate was younger than Sam. They'd known each other for a long time. Once all me, they called me over to their table. Hey there, Preston. Good morning, sir. Thanks, mate. I will. Oh, hello, Sam. Well, how are you, sergeant? Sit down. Hey, uh, who's Parker's this on the back of this chair? That's Nate. Imagine anybody his age getting a red Parker. It ain't any funnier than the red tunics the Mounties wear in summer. Besides, I do a lot of hunting, and no one's going to take me for a bear or a moose if I'm wearing red. People can sure see a mileay in that thing. Looks like a man is treating the night. Why, uh, no thanks. I'm on duty. How's your mind doing, Sam? I've been better all the time. He's got a gold vein running through there that's the richest one I ever saw. Sam's going to be a millionaire. I sure hope so. Glad to hear it, Sam. You must be working hard. I haven't seen you in town for a long time. Every month. Nate here helps me pack it in along with his. Yeah, what I bring in ain't worth carrying him. My claim ain't like, Sam's, I get just about enough out of it to live on. Well, hello, mate. Oh, hi, Dave. I'm impressed, don't you? I know Sam, but I ain't met the sergeant. Sergeant, this is Dave Banks. Sergeant Preston. How do you do? How are you? That's a friend of mine, Slim Janks. Oh, man. Pull up some chairs, boys, and set up a fine suit to me. Sit down. I'd never seen Dave and Slim before. Dave was big and blustery, and I didn't like him. And Slim was small and shifty-eyed. I didn't stay much longer. As I said before, that was the last time I saw Sam. I'm alive, that is. But two weeks later, when Nate and a French-Canadian trapper by the name of Paul Rene came bursting into police barracks looking for me. Sergeant Preston. Sergeant Preston. Hi, King. Hi, Nate. Hi, Trump. It's Sam. Paul and I got back from a hunting trip and found him... found him dead. Dead? We... Sam was no dirt. He was shot, Sergeant. Shot and robbed. How long have you been away? Paul and I were on a three-day hunting trip. Sam must have been killed two or three days ago. The cabin was icy cold. Fire out. Sam, frozen stiff. Did you and Paul see him before you left? Oh, we? Nate and me, we stopped there just before we go on hunt. Did Sam have much gold there in his cabin? Yes, he did. He had thousands of dollars worth waiting to be taken to the bank. Well, go out to Sam's cabin right away. Here he is, Sergeant. We put him on the cart. The back of the head? Where was the body? Someone shooting from outside, I think. He was on the floor beside that chair at the table. He was shot through that window. See? The plane's broken. Sam, we have not noticed these. There must be tracks around here somewhere. Going outside and look around. Come on, King. Well, I'll go with you, Sergeant. All right, Nate. Sam was my best friend. I'd like to get my hands on that dirty rat that did this. They made no attempt to hide that track. Like here under the window. They looked, Sergeant, over there. They had a sled and dog team waiting. The tracks lead to the cabin. There were two men. It should be hard to trail them. No, Nate. I'll go back and get my supplies and my dog team. I'll leave today. Sergeant, would you do me a favor and take me along? Sam was such a good friend. If I could just help catch the no-good-cursor did this. Well, of course you're welcome to come, Nate. I'll appoint you a special deputy. I know how you feel. Thanks, Sergeant. I'll get ready. We'll start once here, King. Good boy. Nate and I started out following the clear trail and had been left with the murderers. They'd made no attempt to hide it, so I thought they were depending on speed in a 24-hour start. Nate ran beside me in his red marker. King knew we were on someone's trail and kept the dogs moving at a stiff pace. We snouted at a small cabin after dark. Whoever owned it had left, but a fire was set and the door left unlocked. We turned in early that night. I fell in a sound, dreamless sleep. It might have been around midnight that I was awakened by King's growling. Nate, what's wrong? That dog of yours don't sleep very sound, does he? I got up to get a drink of water. Well, that's funny. I don't see why King would growl at you. What's wrong, boy? Someone's prowling around the cabin or something? Someone out there, fella? Maybe I better have a look. Someone out here? I guess not. Maybe he just had a bad dream. Maybe that growl didn't talk. Looks as if he just about can. Well, he's quiet now. I guess there's nothing to worry about. Good night, Nate. The men we were trailing left a clear track that was almost like writing in the snow. There's a third day out and we were going along at a fast clip and a snowshoe rabbit darted out of some rocks ahead. Quickly, Nate jerked up his gun and fired. He missed the rabbit, but the shot blew up some snow just ahead of King. I turned on it furiously. Mate, you fool! That bullet just raised King's head. What? Oh, no, no, Sergeant. I missed him by a mile. I'm a good shot, you know that. You want a good enough shot to hit that rabbit? I don't try anything like that again. Next time you shoot, don't aim at anything in front of my dog team. Gosh, Sergeant, I'm sorry. The rabbit came out of there so quicker and had time to think. All right, Nate. Sorry I lost my temper. On King! On your husband! I figured we must be about a day behind the men we were after. We camped in the open that night since the mountains were ahead. The firewood was low. I went out with King to replenish it. We went back to a group of trees not far from the campfire. Well, Nate got the sleeping bags ready. As I chopped at the dead log, King saw some kind of animal nearby and chased off after him. Suddenly the head of my axe broke on me. I couldn't fix it, so I started back to the camp for another. The snow was thick and my footsteps were muffled. As I neared the fire, I saw King coming toward the camp beside his eyes, reflecting the fire. Then I saw Nate. He was standing beside a tree and his rifle was aimed at King. I spying forward and tackled him, just as he fired. No, you don't! Hey, what are you... Black King, have a mind, boy. I've got him. Get up, Nate. Brashed him. What's the idea of knocking me down? No use pretending, Nate. You were deliberately trying to kill King. I ought to beat your brains out. What? Was that King? You knew it was. I didn't. I saw King go off with you. I thought that was a wolf. You know better than that. No wolf would walk into a camp like that. You didn't hear any of the other dogs barking. Really, Sergeant? I just looked up and saw him all of a sudden. I just didn't take time to think. That's the second time you tried to shoot him. I didn't, Sergeant. It was an accident. That's what you'd have said if you'd killed him. I'll get into that bedroll fast. Watch him, King. Keep that dog away, Preston. That dog is going to watch you all night. If you try to get up without calling me, I won't answer for the consequences. Watch him, boy. Keep him there. Are they awake that night trying to puzzle this thing out? Maybe Nate was telling the truth. Maybe it could have been an accident. And then I knew. King hadn't trusted Nate from the start. That's why he stayed close to me when Nate was around. That's why he growled at him in the cabin that night. The following morning, we broke camp. It was just before we started on the trail again. But I decided to try something. Sergeant, I hope you still ain't mad about what happened last night. Take off that red parka and put mine on. What? What for? Do it. Preston, why should I? Come on. Do as I say and hurry up about it. I don't see why you want me to do it. You're not afraid, are you, Nate? Afraid? No. No, here. Take it off. Here it is. Take this one. Pull a hood up over your head. It's about the same size, Nate. People will take me for you in this red parka. I don't know what you're talking about. Well, if you don't, you won't mind the exchange. All right, Nate. Let's go. We started out on the trail. Nate went ahead boldly at first. Then as we neared the edge of the forest, he began to get nervous. Despite of the cold, he perspired and his eyes took on a hunted look. Sergeant, we better stop here and eat, don't you think? Eat? You can't be hungry yet, Nate. It's early. Now we'll keep on going. Hunting! Hunting, Huskies! Wait. Wait a minute, Sergeant. No, Nate. Get going. No. No, I can't. I can't. Hunting! Hunting, Huskies! Well, Nate, you ready to tell me everything? If you don't, we'll start walking. No, no, please. There's somebody waiting on the trail ahead, is that it? No, no, it's nothing. Well then, you shouldn't be afraid. Come on, get going. No, I can't. All right, all right, I'll tell. They're waiting up there behind them rocks in the mountains. Hmm. Planning to shoot the one who wasn't wearing a red parka. Is that it? Yes. So you were in on the whole thing? You planned Sam's murder? No. No, I was away on the hunting trip. That's a good alibi, Nate. I didn't say you shot Sam, but you knew he was going to be killed. But why would I come and get you? Leave me into an ambush. I could miss knowing who we were with you and that red parka. You and your pals knew that no other bounty would be sent on the case while I was on it. Would give you plenty of time to get out of the country if I were killed. No, not even true. I'm going to leave my dog team here with you. But I'm handcuffing you to a tree. Then King and I will sit around and sit behind those rocks. All right, James, let's go. Come on. I left Nate there and King and I made a big circle and climbed above the place that Nate had pointed out. I was still wearing the red parka. As we approached the rocks near the trail, I saw two men waiting there. I came in swiftly. Are you looking for someone? What? Nate? Stand right where you are and don't move. Why are you hitting Nate? No. It's only Nate's parka. Why, it's Preston. Don't touch those guns. You're under arrest. Let's get him swept away. Take him off. Get away, you cunt. All right, King Aquila. I told you not to reach for that gun, Dave. Good work, King. Now, both of you, get going. And that's the report, sir. As you know, I brought all three of them back. Well, that was fine work, Sergeant. I can't understand why Nate didn't kill you himself. Well, sir, he couldn't get near me with King around. Besides, Nate's too cowardly to fight. Dave was the killer. I learned what they said on the way back that Nate had planned to come back to town with some story about my falling through the ice. Well, no one would have suspected Nate. He had sound alibi. And everyone thought he was Sam's best friend. His big mistake, sir, was in trying to kill mine. Wasn't it, King? These copyrighted dramas originate in the studios of WXYZ Detroit, and all characters, names, places, and incidents used are fictitious. They are sent to you each week at this same time. Larry McCann speaking. This is the Michigan Radio Network.