Mysterious Intruder

Stillwell, the owner of a music store, hires private detective Don Gale to locate Elora Lund. He can only offer $100 for the job but hints that finding Lund could make Gale a rich man. Gale begins pursuing the disappearance seven years after Lund's mother died.

A young woman claiming to be Elora Lund appears at Stillwell's shop. Stillwell says he found something valuable among her mother's odds and ends and wants to phone Gale for help. This encounter sets the stage for a dangerous, treasure-hunt style chase.

Harry Pontos sneaks into the shop basement, finds a package addressed to Lund, and grabs it. He stabs Stillwell to death and kidnaps the impostor, escaping with her and the package. The murder shifts the case from verification to a vicious pursuit.

At the murder scene, Gale tells reporters that the woman is not Lund. The revelation clears up the immediate confusion and influences how the press covers the case. The media attention raises the stakes around the missing girl and the package.

The real Elora Lund goes to the police, who direct her to Gale to learn what he knows. This collaboration links Lund to Gale's investigation and broadens the inquiry. Taggart and Burns begin following leads that intersect with Gale.

Gale encounters the impostor and learns her name is Freda Hanson, who is actually Gale's accomplice. This twist ties the characters together and explains the motive behind the hunt for the valuable recording treasure. Hanson becomes a central figure in the conspiracy.

Using information from Hanson, Gale retraces the impostor's steps and locates Pontos' house. He uncovers clues connected to the missing Elora Lund and the valuable recordings. The pursuit tightens as Gale closes in on the truth.

Gale finds Pontos drunk and a gunfight erupts. He sneaks away during the confrontation, but loses a shoe in the chaos. The confrontation heightens the danger surrounding the sought-after recordings.

Taggart and Burns question Gale and learn Pontos is dead, returning his shoe as evidence. Gale refuses to cooperate and is arrested, then released shortly afterward in the hope he will lead authorities to the killer. The investigation continues to hinge on Gale's movements.

Gale visits Hanson, and she reveals that what she is after is worth about $200,000. The disclosure confirms the substantial financial stakes driving the conspiracy. Gale's plan becomes riskier as the prize grows larger.

A newspaper clipping reveals that a magnate has offered $100,000 for two wax cylinder recordings of Jenny Lind made before her death. The reward shifts the focus to acquiring the rare recordings themselves. The information escalates the race to secure the artifacts.

The real Elora Lund returns to the police, who send her to Gale to learn what he knows. She recalls the recordings, and Gale offers to secure them for 25% of their value, prompting her to stay with Rose Deming while he works. The alliance deepens the scheme around the sought treasure.

James Summers, the manager of the apartment building where Hanson lives, discovers her strangled body in her closet. The police suspect Gale's involvement, and Summers becomes entangled with the case as a possible partner in the treasonous plot. The murder raises the stakes and intensifies the pursuit.

Gale goes to Stillwell's and then to Brown's Brass Shop basement, where Summers and an accomplice have found the recordings. A gunfight erupts as Gale seizes the recordings and phones police to report them. He is shot and killed by the police, and Taggart notes that one of the shots shatters the recordings.