 Now, as howling winds echo across the snow-covered reaches of the wild northwest, the Quaker Oaks Company makers of Quaker Pop Wheat, and Quaker Pop Rice, the delicious cereal shot from guns, in cooperation with the Mutual Broadcasting System, present by special recording, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. It's Yukon Gaines, the swiftest and strongest lead dog of the northwest, raking his trail for Sergeant Preston of the northwest mounted police, in his relentless pursuit of lawbreakers. Gold, gold discovered in the Yukon, a stampede to the crime site in the wild race for riches. Back to the days of the Gold Rock, and the adventures of Sergeant Preston and his wondered-of Yukon king, as they meet the challenge of the Yukon. Our adventure will begin in just a moment. Is your youngster a problem child in the classroom? Maybe it's because our schools themselves are such a problem. Maybe your child is sharing desk and textbook with another child who is also finding it hard to learn under such conditions. Nearly a million new students a year are entering schools that are sorely overcrowded and understaffed. 400,000 new teachers will be needed within the next 10 years. President Eisenhower has pointed the way by calling a special White House conference on education to take place in November. Meanwhile, states and communities are organizing their own conferences to discuss local school problems. Carry the ball for your community. Write for free information on how to hold a community conference. Write better schools to West 45th Street, New York, 36th New York. Remember, better schools build better communities. This message is brought to you as a public service. Claire Lawrence and Johnny Trane were having supper in Daisy's restaurant on Front Street. For some reason, Johnny didn't seem to have much appetite. What's the matter with you, Johnny? Why is he eating your pie? It's good. Ah, I know. I'm faking. What about why? You? I'm wondering how many millionaires have asked you to marry. For three or four. And you said no to all of them. Of course. And there's no sense in my asking. Isn't there? Just only a trading post doesn't put me in the class with a bonanza, can you? Perfectly correct me. If you love me, Claire, I don't... I do. And someday I'll marry you. But right now, I... Why not? It's Neil, Johnny. He's my brother. You know him. Well, you can't blame him for being mad at Ben Macklin the way Ben cheated him. I'd be afraid, dirty Dawson. You need someone to watch out for him, to keep him under control. But if he should ever settle down, if he should ever leave Dawson and go back to the states, why... Claire. You mean it? You will? Someday, Johnny. I promise you. At two o'clock that morning, Johnny was harnessing his teeth and back to the palace hotel. The sky was brilliant for the full moon. But no other flight. Some of the dogs were lined up their plates as fast. And Johnny was just about to step on the runners as it fled when Claire ran around the corner of the hotel. She was dressed for the trails and she carried a carpet bag. Claire! Johnny, Johnny, I've changed my mind. You don't mean it. Yes, I'll marry you tonight. How long will it take us to get to the mansion? We'll be there before morning. And then we'll go straight on to Tanglewood Creek. Well, I should be getting back to the post, but if you... No, no, that's what I want to do. What made you change your mind so suddenly? It's up a time you said you couldn't leave Dawson. That I had to stay here and keep an eye on Mia. But that's all changed. He's leaving Dawson himself. He's going back to the states. I can do as I please and I will find him. Oh, honey, you've made me the happiest man in the world. Yeah, let me take you back. Not climb on board. And don't you worry about your brother. I'm not. The post may be a little lonely. But you learn to love the force, honey. And we can come to Dawson every now and then. I never want to see Dawson again. That's soon enough for me. All set? Yes. Must! Claire and Johnny were married at the mission. They drove on to the trading post in the heart of the northern forest. A week passed. Then one morning when Claire was alone in the store, the door opened. Claire's brother, Neil, walked in. Neil? Hello, Claire. What are you doing here? You shouldn't have run away. I shouldn't have run away. At first I thought you'd gone up to the cabin on Rainbow Creek. I went there. No sign of you, of course. And then I thought of Johnny. You're married. Yes. And I can't help you anymore. I can't. Except to give you a little money. The only thing for you to do is to get out of the country as fast as you can. Do you think I'd desert you? Desert me? I don't know what you're talking about. You're the one who's in danger. Claire, didn't you shoot Ben Macklin? No, I thought you did. Murder. Yes, murder. No, no. I was just... Let's get it straight, Claire. Tell me everything that happened on the nature of Dawson. There's nothing much to tell, Neil. You've been swearing you'd get even with Macklin for feeding you out of your dominion claim. I came home after the last show at the music hall. I opened the door and there he was, lying on the floor. Dead. A bullet to his heart. When was that? About two o'clock. I wasn't in Dawson all evening. What? I'd taken a run up to Crystal Creek. I didn't get home until three. Until three? He was still lying there. Your clothes were gone. My gun was gone from the table drawer. It was gone when I got home. What was I to think? But why? Why would I... I mean, Macklin, it was easy to figure out a reason. If he'd followed your home and forced his way in, I figured it was self-defense. I wanted to find you and bring you back so you could clear yourself. Dear, in the reason I ran away, I wanted the police to think I'd done it. I knew they'd find out where I was sooner or later, but by the time they found me, you'd be safe out of the country. What have we done? The question is, what are we going to do? We could go back to Dawson to tell the truth. Isn't it too late for that? Macklin had plenty of enemies. Someone else did it. Sure. But the police must have found him in our cabin. And with both of us gone, and with people remembering how I'd talked about getting even, you don't have to be afraid, Claire. I'm the one they'll blame. Whoever shot him wanted you to be blamed. He was shot somewhere else and carried to our cabin after he was dead. That's possible. There's no way to prove it. They're driving up, Johnny. I don't think so. We haven't seen anything of the Indians for the past few days and he drove up to their village. He was afraid something might be wrong. It's quite a way. Now, let's have a look. Neil, it isn't a model. No, just a traveler. I've seen him in Dawson. Does he know you? Will he recognize you? He'll recognize you, even if he doesn't recognize me. Here he comes. Well, well, so it's true. What's true? What I heard is a mission. You and Johnny got married. Yes, it's true. What about him? Nothing. Your brother's living with you. I thought he might be. Where's Johnny? He's out right now. If there's anything you want to buy... I'll come later. Don't you remember me, Neil? I'm Luke Samson. I remember your face. I sure do, from Dawson. Let's see. You two left about a week ago. You must be anxious to hear all the news. Not particularly. But we've had a lot of excitement since you left. What sort of excitement? Well, for one thing, Ben Macdon was murdered. Really? Right. Not particularly. Well, a little surprise here. He was found in your cabin. Ha, ha, ha, ha. He didn't even turn a hair. I never learned how. I wonder what people are saying is true. What's that? Well, that Neil did it. He didn't. I wouldn't expect you to admit it, Claire. Your own brother. Are the police looking for him? What are you saying? All right, so I'm here. What are you going to do about it? It's my duty to notify the Northwest Monod. Oh, Neil? But if I didn't, they might never find your way up here. Or you could cross the border into Alaska and be safe. It's a problem. I, uh, wouldn't like to see you hang, Neil. Ben Macdon got what was coming to him. However, uh, go on. I, uh, happened to be a little short of cash. I thought so. Well, I have no money. Go ahead and tell the police where I am. How about you, Claire? Don't you have any money? No. Johnny must have plenty in his strong back. So what of it? Well? I wouldn't steal if that's what you're driving at. But Neil, I'm sure that if I explained to Johnny how hard it would be to prove your innocence, he'd be glad. Well, sure he would. That's the idea. And all I'm asking is a thousand dollars. Blackmail? Well, I happened to be a little short of cash. Look and see who that is, man. Johnny, good. That's a two-slag wife. Oh, what's funny? The man on the second sled is a mug. Hey, let me see. It's Sergeant Preston. Yeah. That means you're still safe, Neil. We can still do business. Preston doesn't know anything about Macdon being killed. But he must. He hasn't been in touch. He's been out on a patrol for over a month. We can still do business. I'd like to give myself up just so I could send you to jail for Blackmail. No, Neil, don't. Let's think about this. Don't say anything until I have a talk with Johnny. We'll let him decide. You'll give us a little time, won't you, Luke? I was getting late, but Sergeant probably stayed at night. So will I. I'll give you until tomorrow morning. All right. No, Neil, don't say anything. Claire, who's this? I'm Neil. Hello, Johnny. This is Luke Sampson, Neil. Oh, glad to meet you, Sampson. How are you? We're not as badly off as we thought, Sergeant. We'll have four men firing instead of two. You all know the Sergeant, don't you? Four men firing at once. Indians, Claire. There's trouble. Something's happened to the village? No, no, I didn't even get to the village. I met the Sergeant on the trail. Tell him about it, Sergeant. Well, Mike Connack escaped from the Beaver City Jail last week. You may have heard of him. He's a renegade. He's been behind all the troubles we've ever had with the Indians and the territory. I started after him the day before yesterday. I stopped at the Black River settlement. They hadn't seen him. I restored the village to the northern edge of the forest this morning. There were only the squads and the children and a few old men. One of them told me what had happened. Connack had been there. Yes, and he persuaded the younger men that all they needed was a few more rifles so they could counter the Yukon. Connack's out in the forest now with about 50 men. From the way King's been acting, it wouldn't surprise me if this post were already surrounded. This is where they mean to get their extra rifles. What are we waiting for? Let's get out of here. I'm going to let them take what they want, protecting your property, but there's never anything to do with me. That's a great deal to do with you. But Connack in command and plenty of weapons and ammunition, this could turn into a full-scale revolt. Well, let it. I am leaving. Something hit the door. I'll take a look. Stand back, everybody. Sergeant opened the door a few inches. An arrow was sticking in it. A piece of paper hung from the shaft. Sergeant reached out and pulled the arrow from the wood. What's the paper? It's an ultimatum from Connack, listen. The store is surrounded. Show a white flag and give us all guns and bullets. Nobody will be hurt. If you're not surrender, we attack, kill all. Give them the rifles. Not a chance. You want your wife to be killed? I'll worry about that for myself then. We'll fight. Of course we'll fight. We have no choice. Connack wouldn't keep his farmers to spare our lives. And there's no chance of escaping, Samson, not now. Whether you like it or not, you'll have to fight with us. Fight for your life. We'll continue our adventure in just a moment. Say, if you have a thrill lately of being wife there in the ballpark when the lead-off man steps up to the plate, have you been there to see his star players in person, see them wallop home runs, see the exciting double plays? Well, don't miss the fun another day. Come out to the ball game as guests of a major or minor league team. Walk right through the gate free if you are 12 years or younger and bring mom or dad or another paying adult. Yes, you can get a free baseball ticket. No mailing, no waiting. It's right inside a package of Quaker Pop Wheat or Quaker Pop Rice or Muffet Shredded Wheat or by Quaker Packo 10 and get two free baseball tickets. Names of teams and dates are on every ticket. Hurry to get your free baseball ticket in the special package of Quaker Pop Wheat or Rice, Muffet Shredded Wheat, or Quaker Packo 10. Now to continue. When the Indians saw no white flag, they opened fire from the woods. Every window in the trading post was shattered. When the firing ceased temporarily, the sergeant directed the boarding up of the window. Only a small opening was left, enough for sighting and shooting. Then as Johnny and Neil stood guarding front and back, on the lookout for any Indian who showed himself on the edge of the clearing, the sergeant borrowed paper and pencil from Clare and began to write. What are you writing, sergeant? Your last little testament? I'm asking for help. That's a great idea. When does the next mail leave? Soon as it's back. Have you gone crazy? No, King's going to be our spokesman. King? He's the only one of us who can get to the woods alive. You're just sending him out and hoping that somebody will find a note attached to his collar? I'm sending him to headquarters. Dawson? In Dawson. That's so far, Sergeant. May take him all night, but he'll get there. You're asking for more Mounties to be sent here? I'm asking for the cavalry. You've been in Dawson since I have, isn't Captain Ames too still there? Yes, they are. Oh, I've forgotten about the cavalry. To handle emergencies like this if they were sent to the territory? They should get here fast. Not for 24 hours, at least. What if the dog gets hit? What if he loses your note? Only time can answer those questions. Stop! Are you showing them so, Johnny? Yeah, Sergeant. He's getting dark. We're not going to slow him down until we're in the trees. Keep firing whenever you find the target. Don't worry, I will. An hour later, it was completely dark. The moon had not risen yet, and the nightly display of the northern lights hadn't begun. Sergeant Preston tied his note securely to King's collar, and he was just about to let him out when both Johnny and Neil sounded the alarm. The first charge was driven back, and as soon as the woods were silent, Sergeant put out all the lights in the store and opened the front door just enough for King to get out. Headquarters, King. The Inspector. Headquarters, as fast as you can. Go, boy! Though the night was darkest pitch, King kept close to the ground until he reached the woods. He understood his mission. He was carrying a message to headquarters, and he must get there as quickly as possible. But he knew the men in the forest were enemies, and he moved cautiously, flipping from the cover of one tree to the next, and then one of the men saw him. The Indians thought he was a wolf and leveled his rifle. King was off at top speed before the shot. The bullet hit a tree directly behind him. He ran on through the forest. When he reached the edge, he spun back to the trail and settled down to a steady, ground-devouring loop. Two hours later, he circled a little town of all gold, and the frozen surface of the Klondike stretched ahead of him, leading straight to Dawson, his destination. Hour after hour he ran, his muscles responding easily to the demands he made on them. The moon was high in the sky, and suddenly the scent of danger came to King. Wolves. He saw them sweeping down the wooded bank behind him, but he never hesitated. His mission was to reach Dawson. There was no time to stand and fight. He must outrun the swift grey ghost of the trail. It had been a long, hard run already, but his champions hardly responded to the fresh crisis. His stride lengthened. He hurled himself forward. He called on his last reserves, and slowly, little by little, he drew away from the pack. Even after they had faded away into the distance, King refused to slacken his pace, and at last, as day was breaking, he saw the buildings of Dawson. Fifteen minutes later, he was scratching at the front door of the Northwest Polly Headquarters. It was Captain Ains of the Cavalry who opened the door. Can I let this dog in, Inspector? The captain had nothing to say about it. King was passed him and ran straight to the inspector. Why, King, where'd you come from? Sergeant Preston's dog? Yeah. There's a note attached to his collar. He seems to have had a hard run. I can't believe of him. What is? He came all the way from Tanglewood last night. This is bad news, Captain. Mike Connick and about 15 Indians laying siege to the trading post. How many people are in the post? Sergeant, the owner, Johnny Train, his wife, who used to be... Well, listen to this, Captain. Who used to be Clare Lawrence. What? She's the one you've been looking for. Clare Lawrence, her brother, Neil and Luke Samson. What do you know? What we know can't help the sergeant. He has no idea of what's going on here. That sounds like a job for my troop. How soon can you get moving? Half an hour. The sergeant says that the trail's a hard pack. You can ride as far as the edge of the forest. Then we'll be able to make it by late afternoon. I don't envy you battling the forest after dark. We get there as fast as we can. If you have any instructions for the sergeant... I'm coming with you. Well, half an hour, Inspector. I'll be ready. Come on, King. I'll get you something to eat. We'll continue our adventure in just a moment. You should have been at the ball game today. I saw three home runs. And guess what? I got one of the home run balls. Fellows and girls, why don't you get a free baseball ticket? It's easy. Come out to the ball game as guests of a major or minor league team. Your free ticket is waiting for you right now inside packages of Quaker Pop Wheat, Quaker Pop Rice, Muppet Shredded Wheat, and Quaker Packleton, which has two free baseball tickets. Yes, if you are 12 years or younger, just bring mom or dad or another paying adult and see wonderful major or minor league baseball games free. Names of teams and dates are on every ticket. Get as many free tickets as you want. No mailing, no waiting. When mom buys breakfast cereal, just be sure she gets the kind with a free baseball ticket inside. That's Quaker Pop Wheat and Rice and Muppet Shredded Wheat. You get two free baseball tickets inside Quaker Packleton. So don't miss out another day. See the star players wallop those home runs. Now to continue. All night long, the little band at the trading post had fought off the Indian attack. At dawn, there was a wreck. The sergeant insisted that the others get some sleep while he stood guard alone. They woke at noon and Clare cooked dinner. But as they ate, the ominous stillness around them seemed worse than the uproar of battle. This waiting gets on your nerves. I say they've drawn. I say we ought to make a break for it. Make a good look, Stanton. They have guards posted. What do you think, sergeant? Will they wait until it's dark before they attack again? I can't have much ammunition left. And all we have to do is drive them back a few more times. I believe that Connac will gamble everything on the next attack. He'll drive them on until they reach the door and break it in. Is there any chance of the cavalry getting here before it goes dark? A chance, we can hope. But hope grew fate as the sun set and the shadows of the great pines lengthened across the clearing. Hardly a word was spoken inside the post. When fall darkness came, they waited. Tenth. Expectance. There was almost a relief when the first bullet kipped away at the boarded-up windows. The occasional firing continued for nearly an hour. Then there was another loud. It won't be long now. It was then they heard a dog parking at the front door. Quickly, the sergeant opened it, and King slipped in the side. Ding, old boy! He's not bad. Hey, you never got your dog. You're no stiller past to be collared. We'll see. This isn't my note. It's from Captain Ames. What did he say? We're leaving our horses on the edge of the forest and the sound of the firing, the Indians must be all around the post. My men will be able to surround them before we start moving in. Hold on to... The inspector says to... What does the inspector say? Luke was standing with his back to the door, a rifle leveled at the sergeant. It's a personal message. What did he say? From the looks of that gun, I think you know what the message is. And since you know, I may as well tell the others, Samson is wanted for the murder of Ben Macklin. Samson? Are you sure? Yes, I kill him. With any luck at all, I'd have gotten away with it. You two would have been blamed. Sergeant, we thought we were being blamed for it. You were at first. The Indian who saw me waited two days before he went to the police. But I was warned. And I got out of Dawson ahead of him. I found out about Clare marrying Johnny at the mission. I came here. With any luck, I'd have gotten the money to make a real getaway. Those Indians outside had a spoiler. The Indian sign seems to have been on use from the beginning. The Indian signs on you two, all of you. And got it all figured out. So have I, Luke. There's no chance that you're escaping. If you got past the Indians, you'd be stopped by the troopers. They all know you're wanted for murder. I said I'd get it all figured out, Monty. When the Indians realize the troopers have surrounded them, they'll forget about the police. They'll run. Now run with them. It's dark out there in the forest. You're not leaving here. You won't be able to stop me. I'm going to shoot all four of you. Right now. Get it over with. At that moment, the Indians attack the post. First, for a second, Luke turns his head toward the door, and the sergeant steps forward. This is tracked against Luke's jaw, and the killer drops to the ground. Hurry up, postman. The sergeant takes up Luke's rifle and hurries to the window. Johnny and Neil follow the sergeant's example. Even fire-picked up a rifle began firing at the Indians as they rushed across the clearing. Many of them dropped to the ground, but a few reached the door. It was impossible to get a bead on them from the window. Hurry. I'll rotate this against the door. Come on. Hurry, ladies. The sergeant Johnny and Neil built up a barricade. The door was beginning to give, when new shells were heard outside. The troopers had reached the clearing, and the Indians fled in panic, trying to get past them and into the forest. Sergeant! Sergeant, it's all over. We'll wait a few minutes before we decide that... It wasn't all over by any means. Luke's sergeant had regained consciousness, and behind the backs of the others was creeping toward the counter, where there were several loaded rifles. He reached out for one of them and grasped it firmly. At that moment, King saw him. The great dog leaped and knocked the gun out of him. Oh, King. We'll make sure he doesn't try that again. Get up, then. All right, all right. I should have put these handcuffs on you before. You're under arrest. The door again. Open up. That's an A. Just a moment. Come on, men. The barricade was removed, and the door was open. How are you people? All pleasant to recall as well, Captain. How's it going? It's finished. You have contact? Oh, yes. Well, I see that you have Vampton. Good work, Captain. Hello, Inspector. Inspector, would you mind telling us everything that happened? How we were cleared, how you and your sister should never have run away? I know, but the appearance... They never did add up to evidence. There were tracks from the snow which proved that Macklin had been dragged inside after he was shot. Tracks led us to where the shooting had taken place, more than a hundred yards away. If you had killed him, Neil, you'd have found some other place to hide the body. Has Vampton made a confession, Sergeant? Yes, sir. I deny it. It doesn't matter. We have enough evidence for a conviction. If you don't mind, Captain, I'd like to question Connick. Right, sir. Sergeant, Sergeant, you saved our lives tonight. Seems to me King did that. He certainly did. Neil and Johnny and I are grateful, and... Oh dear, what can one say at a time like this? Well, you and your brother were cleared of all suspicion about the fate. Connick and Vampton are on their way to jail. I'm very happy to say that as far as we're concerned, this case is closed. We'll return in just a moment for the word about our next exciting adventure. Your musical treat of the day waits for you throughout the week on Mutual. Each Tuesday and Thursday evening, it's time for Eddie Fisher and a session of music as everyone likes it. Young and old delight in Eddie Fisher's way with the song. And he's joined on every show by Fred Robbins as emcee, Alex Storto's orchestra, and outstanding guest stars. Every Saturday, the teenager's favorite, Johnny Desmond, brings photogramma time and a roundup of the newest and best in popular recordings. On Sundays, the Enchanted Hour presents favorite music from the world's best-loved composers. Every weekday also means time for Hawaii calls and authentic melodies of the island. Music fills Mutual there throughout the week. Here the Eddie Fisher show, Johnny Desmond with photogramma time Enchanted Hour and Hawaii calls on Mutual throughout the week over most of these sessions. Two men, Wally and Dell, have planned a murder knowing someone else will be blamed. When Sergeant Preston and the great dog Yukon King set out to trail the man who was thought to be the killer, Preston may find that his own life is in the hands of a desperate fugitive. Don't miss this next exciting adventure. These Sergeant Preston of Yukon Adventures are brought to you every Monday through Friday at this time by the Quaker Roads Company, makers of Quaker Pop Wheat and Quaker Pop Rice, the delicious cereal shot from guns by special recording in cooperation with the Mutual Broadcasting System. They are a copyrighted feature of Sergeant Preston of the Yukon Incorporated created by George W. Trenble produced by Trenble Campbell Mule Incorporated and directed by Fred Flower Day. The part of Sergeant Preston is played by Paul Sutton. This is J. Michael wishing you good-bye, good luck and good health from Quaker Pop Wheat and Quaker Pop Rice. So long. This is Mutual, a radio network for all America.