 The Challenge of the Yukon. The King of New Malamute! 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-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. When Sergeant Preston arrived in a small community, he usually called on two or three friends to hear the latest local news. In Horst River, he stopped to speak to the constable, Leif Avery. Leif, are you sure about Jim Bixby? Sure as I'm sitting here, Sergeant Preston. He's been trapping up in the Thief Canyon section since the freeze-up. Yeah, and now he's on his way here. An Indian came by with the news a couple of days ago. You said he'd had a good winter. According to the Indian, he's got Irwin and Sable enough to fix him for life. Leif, I don't like it. Huh? That Indian may have told others about Bixby. There are fur thieves operating around here. Sergeant, do you think Jim's in danger? I think he is. Two trappers have been killed this spring. Is that so? Yes. Near here? Not far from here. What clues I've been able to find indicate that the thieves headed this way. Oh, dog gone. Have you noticed any strangers in town? Well, none in particular. There's always a few men coming and going. Is it true? Well, in particular, there's always a few men coming and going. Is it generally known that Bixby's on his way here with a valuable load of pelts? I guess it is. There's been no secret about it. And Bixby's probably traveling along. Uh-huh. I reckon so. He'll come through Collins Canyon. Most probably will, Sergeant President. I'm going out to meet him. Well, I'll go with you. No, you'd better stay here, Leif. This is a job for a Monty. What if you're going out there alone to meet a gang of fur thieves? I won't be alone. I'll take King with me. Well, Sergeant, you'd better be prepared for some weather. I know. There's snow in the air. In spite of the fact that the break-up's at hand, a late blizzard is a bad one. It'll probably hit sooner after dark. I'll be in Collins Canyon by that time. There are plenty of good places there to spend the night if the weather gets too bad. The blizzard struck just as the constable had forecast. It was dark in Collins Canyon. And the snow and wind made travel increasingly hard for Sergeant Preston and his great dog King. But they kept on until King suddenly stopped. What's the matter, King? I wish I had eyes like yours, boy. What's ahead of us? Hold on there. Ready, King? I'm coming towards you. Don't fire again. All right, King, take him. Like an arrow from a bow, the dog leaped ahead, streaking across the snow toward the unknown who had fired twice. There was a sudden cry of fear. No, no, no. Don't do it. Get this dog. Take him. Call him off. He almost busted Maurice. He didn't even break the skin. On guard, boy. I... I didn't mean... Who are you? I'm an old man, mister. Mighty old man. You fired at me? No, no, mister. Are you a policeman? Sergeant Preston. Oh, thank goodness. Thank goodness you come. Were you generally shooting people before you know who they are? No, no, Sergeant. I didn't shoot at you. I fired the signal for help. Well, it seemed to me the bullets came pretty close. I fired the signal for help. I'm an old man. You said that before. I need help, Sergeant. Help to get to town. I lost my pack. I lost my grub. I even lost my match safe. Where are you from? I don't know. I've been wandering for days, for weeks maybe. I lost all track at time. There'll be some kending at the base of this wall. I'll get a fire going. It has some warm food for you in a minute. Oh, Sergeant, you've come from Providence. I need help. I need it back. What's your name? Gage. Glenn Gage. That's my name. I'm an old man. We're sheltered from the wind here. Tell me about yourself, and I'll get these twigs lighted. Ain't much to tell, Sergeant. King, what's the matter with you? Let me have that knife, and I'll whittle some shavens to help the fire long. You don't know what this will mean. King, what are you digging for, boy? What's the matter with you? Get away from there, you monster! Gage, don't try to kick that dog. Why, you tried to... What have you found there, King? Let me see, boy. Gage, what's this? Is this the pack you said you'd lost? I don't know whose pack that is. It doesn't likely someone else would have lost it here. Well, they must have. I don't know anything about it. There's been here just a short time. It was on top of the frozen ground. You buried it in the snow. Why? It's a long story, Sergeant. If you'd put some food on that fire and give me a chance to tell you, I'll just whittle some shavens and get the fire going good. I'm an old man. Hey, show ya! Get that dog! That's enough, King. Down, King. All right, now, boy. I guess I was careless to let him borrow my knife. Get up, Gage. You're not hurt, but you've got a lot to account for. You're not an old man. You straightened up fast and started to put that knife in me. You lied about losing your pack and you lied about shooting a signal for help. All right, I lied, Preston. What about it? Take me into the jail if you want to. It's known that I'm after certain men. Did someone send you to ambush me? I won't talk. I think you will. I got nothing to say, Preston. Take me to jail and try and prove that I aim to kill ya. See if you can prove that. You got nothing else on me? No, Gage. You're not going to deal just yet. You're going to tell me why you're here or should I turn King loose? That dog... He's ready. Look at his fur. He hates men who try to kill me. You can't prove anything. You got nothing against me. All right, we'll see what King can do. No, no. Don't do that. Don't set that dog on me. Talk then. I was to delay it. That's all. I didn't intend to kill you. You didn't intend to kill me. What did you think that knife would do? Sergeant, you've got to believe me. It was your life or mine. They made me do it. They told me to keep you from leaving the canyon. Who did? All right. Answer me, Gage. Boss Raven. Raven? Yes, Boss Raven. So he broke out of prison. Sergeant, he'll kill me for this. He'll kill me for not stopping ya. How does he know I'm after him? I don't know that, but news travels. He knows you're looking for him and he wanted me to... He wanted to get me out of the way before he closed in on Jim Bixby. Is that it? Yeah, that's it. How did you know he was after Bixby? I didn't until just now. You said... Let's have the rest of it, Gage. All the details. Now, look, Sergeant. I know when I'm licked. Well? You've got to protect me against Boss Raven and Butch Knead. If they find out... I asked for details, Gage. Let's have them. Do you see that I get off... I'll promise one thing, that's all. What's that? You'll have a fair and impartial trial. Now, talk. But you'll see that I live to go on trial. I've made the promise, but only one promise. All right. I can tell you how to get Raven. He and Butch are holed up in a shack a few miles north of the canyon. If you go there, you can get him by surprise. You're going with me, Gage. I'll go with you. I'll take you to the cabin. They're waiting there for Jim Bixby. Just two men? That's all. Boss Raven and Butch Knead. Very well. We'll start at once. Sergeant Preston kept a close watch on Gage during the trip to the canyon and across the open country. His vigilance increased as they neared a small shack at the base of a steep hill. A dim light could be seen in the window. There. You see, Sergeant, they're in the cabin just like I told you. Keep a pace ahead of me, Gage. I will. I'm taking no chances on you. That dog won't let anything happen to you, Sergeant. Keep going. They hear us coming. They'll open fire. They won't hear us above this wind. Let me have a gun. I can help you. I'll handle it. Stop there, Gage. You're going to bust right in and get the drop on them? Yes. They're watching out the window on the other side. That's the direction Bixby will come from. Stand back, Gage. Right. All right, get them up. Great, Gage. Jim Bixby. What's up, Gage? We'll see about that. Who's that? What's going on here? Get back. Get out of the line of fire. But who? Listen, Bixby. Boss Raven and Butch Knead are out to get you. Me? Yes, I was tricked. I thought I'd find them in this cabin waiting to waylay you. For my pelts? Yes. Now they've got his boot here. Wait a minute. Raven, are you out there? It's the last trick that counts, Gage. Perhaps I will. Jim, where are your pelts? They've compacted them with sled outside. Yes. What about it? I'll give you nothing of the sort. Hey, buzzard. You won't get us that way, Raven. You can't hit what you can't see. I'll leave, Raven. I'll be sure of success. Jim, you better cover both those windows with a blanket so they can't see in. Right. I'll tend to it right away, Sergeant. Hey, what are we going to do about this? We can't leave here. Here, let me help you with that blanket. Thanks. Just took it over the window on those nails. Maybe if I was to open the door and start shooting, you could get in a couple of fast shots. No, Raven's too smart to be caught that way. Oh, I knew something would happen before I could cash in on the best season's trapping I ever had. I should have realized that Gage was too easily persuaded to reveal Raven's plans. What do we do? Well, let's get that other window covered first, Jim. Then we'll see what we can do about those crooks. Boss, how long are we going to stay here watching the shack? Not very long, butch. I ain't done a slick job in tricking the Mountie, hey, boss? I didn't think you'd do a slick job, Gage. You wouldn't be in my outfit. We can't leave and count on not being followed, can we? Ah, nah. You'll know if we leave here, you'll be after as fast. Only Preston would make a break for it. I don't want Preston to make a break for it. He did. We'd have to shoot him. What's wrong with that? Butch, you fool. Don't you know what happens when a Mountie's found with a bullet in him? Well... We'd never get away with that kind of a murder. Whole of the Northwest mounted to be after us. We might make the border to the states. Well, I'd rather not risk shooting a Mountie. Now, if he dies from other causes... Other causes? Yeah. Such as might be considered accidental. Like fire. Fire, that's it. Set the shack on fire. Here's a good idea. Hey, hey, Raven, look. They're opening the door. Watch out, boys. He's getting ready to make a break for it. Why are they opening the door so slow? Why did they put the light out? Boys, Preston thinks he's going to put one over on us. How's that, boss? He thinks to get that door all the way open without us noticing it. He thinks if he moves it slow, he can do it without making a creaking sound. But if the door is open, what then? Figures on having that big dog here to make a break for it. That dog is plenty smart. Yeah. If the dog got clear, he'd go right to the town with a message for the constable. That'd mean the end of our game. I'll get you ready, boys. Keep close to the cabin here. Don't get out in the open. With a second now, that dog will bolt out of that door. We ready to shoot him. Drop him in his tracks. Yeah. You got that gun. I gave you an inch of gauge. Yeah, but I'd sooner have the one Preston took from me. You ready, Butch? I'm ready. That dog will rush out any second now. Hey, what was that? The matter with your gauge? A blob of snow slid from the roof. Hit my cap. Hey, look. Adam! Hey! He's coming! I'll go talk to look up. Get you! The dog! The dog! Pull him off! Take him away! One dog, King. One for you, right? Oh, that's enough! Enough! This dog! That'll do, King. On guard, boy. It tricked you. Crooks right neat. On your feet, Raven. Keep that dog away. They won't hurt you now, Gage. I never thought I'd look enough. Oh, my joy. Three first-class crooks. By thunder, I'll be mighty proud to hit town. A sled load of furs and three killers. A maudee of a Mausite and king with a maudee. You ain't got us in jail yet. Don't count chickens, Bixby. I'll lay a hundred to one, you don't get away. You can increase those odds, Jim. How do they do, Sergeant? Did I open the door slow enough to hold their attention? You did, Jim. It's a lucky thing that Jimmy was large enough to let King and me through to the roof. Hey, King. All right, fella. We can say that this case is closed. These copyrighted dramas originate in the studios of WXY Z Detroit, and all characters, names, places, and incidents used are fictitious. They are sent to you each week at the same time and reach you from our transcription studios. Hallelujah speaking, this is the Michigan Radio Network.