 The challenge of the Yukon. The Wonder Dog King, swiftest and strongest of Eskimo lead dogs, blazes 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-modded 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. People always look twice at Big Bill Calhoun. Not because of any tutorial elements, Bill's clothes were never pressed and seldom washed, but because he was such a mountain of a man. Big Bill could be a tower of fury or a good-natured hulk shy to the point of embarrassment. On an early spring morning as he strode down the main street of Whitehorse, he spotted three men who slid and frozen fast on the icy road in front of Annie Johnson's restaurant. The men were lishing their straining dog team mercilessly, and Big Bill's voice roared at them in sudden fury. Hey, you idle-headed buzzards! Quit hitting them dogs that way! Oh, mind your own business, or you'll get a taste of this whip yourself! Get out of your pack of sweet-bithy wolf meat! Listen, you lily-livered whelks! Put down them whips or I'll bust all your stalls together! Oh, shut up and go in and about your business! Oh, so you're whose business it is? You rock-faced weasels? Give me that whip! Oh, no, you don't! Hit me with it, will you, while you weak-knee bare-boot? How do you like that? Come on, let's get this guy in! All right, come on, both of you! Come up behind me, will you? You're the last! Golly, Bill, you knocked all three of them out! What happened, Bill? Oh, they was beating their dogs up dirty weasels. Well, what's going on here? Oh, Annie, you little cow-hoon, you've been fighting again. I saw it all, Annie. Those men were beating their dogs and Bill knocked them all out. I'm sorry, Annie. I must have lost my temper for a minute. A minute? I'm glad it wasn't longer than that. You better come in my place, let me fix that eye. Oh, Annie, that ain't nothing. Pete, get some men, take care of these three cow-cuses lying there. Take them in the gym's bomb, bring them to. Sure, Annie. Sure. Come on in, Bill. And Annie can fix black eyes, something wonderful. Oh, Bobby, you know it ain't right to get black eyes. Sit down there, Bill. I'll get something for that shine. Gee, Bill, when I grow up, I hope I can fight as good as you. Bang! One fell over the sled, bang! The other almost turned to somersault, bang! Bobby, you should never fight. Well, it ain't a nice thing to do. You ought to, well, you ought to count ten before you lose your temper. You ought to... All right, Bill, stop trying to lecture you. You ain't any good at it. Well, I was just trying, trying to... You were just trying to remember what I'm all over telling you. Now, let me put this raw beefsteak on your eye. Gee, Annie, that's wonderful. That, that's awful. You ought, seems like awful waste of good meat. Here, now, hold on to it while I tie this bandage. But I won't be able to see. Well, you can look out the other eye, can't you? Hold still now. Oh, there. Hello, Bill. Hello, Sergeant Grissom. Hello, Annie. Hello, Sergeant. Oh, there's King. You're coming after me for disturbing the peace president? No, Bill, but I helped pick up the pieces you left. Guess you had a perfect right to do it, from what the boys tell me. Did they get got you short? You messed them up all right, but nothing too serious. Hello, King. How are you, boy? Let me pat you, you old scampion. Why do all dogs like you so much, Bill? It's because Bill knows all about them, Bobby. He's the one man in the Yukon I trust with King. Oh, King and me is old pals. How's his foot now, Sergeant? It's been fine since you fixed it. I don't approve of fighting, but I'm mighty glad Bill beat their men up. They was abusing their dog something fearful. Gosh, Annie, that's the first time you ever said a thing like that. Well, they're just here for a day or so. I'm glad they're moving on. What? Bill's beaten as I meet the King. Bill, careful. Well, Annie, you see, it kind of slipped out from under the bandage. Anyway, it cured my eye. It feels better. I guess it'll live, Annie. Come on out and look at these dogs, Bill. They may need some attention. Sure, sure. They was beaten pretty bad. Come back before you go home, Bill. I'll get the pie for you. Oh, gee, Annie, that's awful nice. You're all right, Bill. Come on. Here, King. Sure, Bobby, bring him over. I'll fix you, Mom. Annie Johnson's a fine woman, Bill. She sure is. She likes you, too. She needs a man to take care of her and Bobby, but she'd marry you if you asked her. Oh, I ain't good enough for her. She's... You've been crazy about her for two years. Why don't you add it? I'll tell you, Sergeant. I can talk my darn fool head off to men and I can talk to dogs, but when it comes to talking to Annie, I... Well, my face gets hot and... And your feet get cold. I know. When young Bobby entered Bill's cabin the next morning, he found the big man hunched over a table. His face screwed up with the effort of writing with a stub of a pencil, which he moistened nervously with his tongue. Hello, Bill. I brought my puppy over where you told me to. Hello, Bobby. I'll look at him in a minute. Lie down there, boy. What are you doing, writing a letter? Just practicing. Bobby, you are good spelling. Sure, I can spell fine. Well, I'll take the word love, for instance. Would that be spelled L-U-V? Oh, no, it's L-O-V. Don't see why it has to be so complicated. Why don't they spell things the way you talk them? Why do you want to spell love? Oh, it's just curious. Now, take the word marry, for instance. Would you spell that? That wouldn't like a girl's name. You mean if a man marries a woman? Well, yeah. No, there's only one hour in a girl's name and two in that kind of marry. Two, huh? Funny about names. Now, take the name... well, Annie, for instance. That only has one N, I expect, if the name marries... Oh, no, it has two Ns. Hey, Bill, what are you writing anyway? Nothing, nothing. We better have a look at that doggy. Three men were mushing along the trail out of White Horse the following day. Pierce Logan grumbled as he strode along behind the others. I don't see why we couldn't have waited and got even at that big gorilla. You're a yellow, that's all. You're just plain crazy, Pierce. Hang with big, big bell clowns like fighting a locomotive. I'd like just one crack at him when he wasn't expecting it. He'd get even for this bash nose he gave me. Yeah, he sure flattened it, Pierce. You ain't very pretty. My jaw won't never be the same. Hurts to talk even. Hey, look. What's that boy over there going through them trees? A bear? Bears don't walk on their hind legs. Hey, it's Bill Calhoun. Oh, oh, yeah, that's his ho, ho. Hey, what you doing, Pierce? What if it is big? Must be him. Ain't nobody else that big. Well, let's get out of here quick. I don't want no part of it. Oh, I do. I'm taking a shot at that no good grizzly. Hey, Pierce, you ain't gonna shoot him. We ain't murderers. I ain't aimin' to kill him. I'll hit him in the leg so as he can sit in the snow and think about it for a while. You hit him. He fell. Come on, Pierce. Even if he just has one leg, I don't want to be in the same county with that one-man tornado. Mercy, you huskies. Mercy. When that on duty, Preston often let his lead dog run free and King was enjoying just such a holiday. He'd been pursuing a rabbit through the woods and he came upon his fresh scent that took him off in another direction, the son of his old friend Bill Calhoun. He heard the big man before he saw him. Big Bill was sitting propped against a tree and his voice bellowed through the forest and futile fury. You blasted pack of slimy weasels. You back-shootin' ya farmers. You so wanted your mangy hides and now grinds you into wind speed. You're shootin' and runnin', you rotten, cowardly bunch of blasts. King, where'd you come from? Come here, boy. Come here. Guess you're gonna have to help me. I can't crawl back to town. Could you find Preston King? So you could. Wait, maybe I got that pencil in my pocket. Sure was lucky you'll come along. Here. Now, what'll I write on it? Now, you wait till I write this note and if you can take it to Preston, you come and get me. Sergeant Preston was just turning in to Annie Johnson's restaurant when he saw King trotting down the main street. Here, King. Come here, fella. Hi there, boy. Have a good run. Come on in here, boy. Hello, Sergeant Preston. Hello, Annie. Well, I'm your first customer. Nobody here. King, what's wrong with you? Sergeant Luke, what's that hanging on his collar? He's a paper, ain't he? Come here, King. Yeah, someone tied a knot on him. So that's what's wrong, is it, boy? What is it? Well, let's see. It says, um... Dear Annie, I can't tell you this to your face, but I love you and want you... What? Well, Annie, I shouldn't be reading this. It's for you. Here. Oh, hi. It's from Bill. Bill? Huh. Poor fella. I guess he was too shy to propose any other way. Crazy old coot. I've been waiting for two years for him to say this. A couple of times I almost lost my pride and asked him... He thinks he isn't good enough for you, Annie. Good enough for me? Lance thinks he needs me to take care of it. Look, Sergeant, here's some oil right on the back of this. Oh? Shot in the leg. Follow King. Trail north. Bill. Oh, Sergeant, Bill's hurt. King must have found him. Oh, hurry, hurry. You bring him right back here. I'll have things all ready. Well, Annie, guess it's up to you to take care of your future husband. Come on, King. We're going to find Bill. Preston had finished tending Bill's wound. The big man, his bandage leg, stretched out in a chair in front of him, heaved a sigh of contentment as he looked about Annie's small living room. Oh, this sure is nice. I feel fine, Sergeant. It isn't too serious, Bill. You'll be all right in no time. Here's some good hot tea for you, Bill. Oh, gee, Annie, you're going to too much trouble. You shouldn't do all this. Well, she might just as well practice up a little, Bill. And now the two two are going to be married. Married! Now you wet and spill your tea. I'll get it, Annie. I got your note, Bill. It's a funny way to get a proposal attached to a dog collar, but it's sort of like you to do it that way. Gosh, Annie, I don't know how you... Anyway, Captain, you sure took a long time doing it. Gee, Annie, I... I'm glad it... Well, gee... You better get him some more tea, Annie, before he faints. Sure. I'll have it for you in a minute. Well, don't look so flamborgasted. It's what you wanted, isn't it? How did you know I... I saw King, just as I was coming in here, when he brought you a note. You'd written it on the back of a letter planning, so I gave it to him. But I was just practicing. I've read lots of them. But you never had the nerve to send them. Well, King fixed that for you. Here's your tea. Now be careful. Oh, gee, Annie, you're wonderful. Thanks. And now, King, I guess we better get on the trailer those men who shot Bill. I must lead a bite on my leg, ain't nothing, and even if it was, I'm... I'm glad they'd done it. You mean you don't want me to arrest him? No, sir. I figure they'll go downskirt. I mean, people... done me a favor. They got me, Annie. Oh, Bill... Well, it's true, if it hadn't been for them and King here, I probably never would have had the nerve to do it. Yes, fellow, this is the first time you've ever played Cupid, huh? These copyrighted dramas originate in the studios of WXYZ Detroit, and all characters name those places and incidents used are fictitious. They are sent to you each week at the same time, and get you from our transcription studios. Howl Neal speaking. This is the Michigan Radio Network.