The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance

Lanyard was suspected because the pull cord from his hotel room window was missing after Wallace fell to his death. When Wallace climbed onto the ledge to reach Lanyard's bathroom window and was shot by a crook, he took the pull cord with him as he fell. Inspector Crane found the missing cord and used it as evidence to accuse Lanyard of murdering Wallace.

Earlier, Wallace warned Lanyard that he was coming to warn him about a trap, establishing that Wallace was an ally rather than an enemy.

The cat wearing a pearl necklace was bait used to lure Lanyard into a trap. When Lanyard and Jamison followed the cat to a bank, a trap snapped shut around them, allowing Inspector Crane to finally arrest his nemesis. The cat's appearance actually ruined Crane's planned arrest by creating a distraction, but it led to the wager between Crane and Lanyard about staying out of trouble for 24 hours.

The entire cat scheme was orchestrated by the criminals to draw Lanyard into Crane's custody, making him unavailable to protect Johnny Baker.

Johnny Baker invented a "burglar-proof" government mail car. The criminals targeted it because it would carry currency engraving plates to San Francisco on its maiden trip, and only Baker knew the combination to open the secure compartment. By kidnapping Baker and forcing him to reveal the combination, the thieves planned to steal the valuable plates.

The telegram sent to Baker claiming Gloria Foster had information about his invention was the trap that led to his kidnapping.

Lanyard discovered the combination through a newsreel at a theatre. After the criminals escaped with the plates, Lanyard saw enlarged footage of Baker on screen in a newsreel about the heist. The magnified frame revealed Baker's final code, giving Lanyard the information he needed to intercept the train and recover the plates.

Earlier, the newsreel about Baker's invention first revealed that the mail car would carry the engraving plates, establishing the stakes.

The criminals rigged the mail car with poison gas as a final failsafe. When Lanyard boarded the train car to rescue Baker, the guards broke in and triggered the gas release. Lanyard managed to rescue Baker just before the poison gas was released, narrowly avoiding death. This trap demonstrated how far the criminals were willing to go to protect their haul.

The presence of "Dr." Tupman and his mysterious ill patient earlier suggested the criminals had medical and chemical expertise for such a scheme.

The criminals kidnapped Gloria Foster to use her as leverage. When the police closed in and they needed to escape, they took Foster with them. Earlier, Foster had information about Johnny Baker's invention, making her valuable to the criminals' scheme. By holding her hostage, they hoped to ensure their escape and maintain control over the situation.

Foster's involvement as a movie star in the same hotel as the heist planners made her a natural target for the criminals.

Lanyard caught up to the moving train by chartering an airplane. After discovering the combination from the newsreel, he arranged for a plane to overtake the train as it moved toward Gary, Indiana. He signaled the train to stop using a stop signal, boarded the moving car, and rescued Baker just as the police closed in.

This daring maneuver reflected Lanyard's established reputation for using unconventional methods to outsmart his opponents.

After stealing the plates, Tupman hid them by lowering them down a well while the criminals escaped in their ambulance. This temporary hiding spot kept the plates safe during the pursuit. Eventually, Lanyard tracked down the criminals and recovered the plates before they could be retrieved.

Earlier, Tupman's role as a medically-trained criminal associate suggested he would be entrusted with important tasks.

Inspector Crane made the wager because he was confident he would finally catch Lanyard. After springing the trap at the bank, Crane believed arrest was imminent and wagered two months' salary that Lanyard couldn't stay out of trouble for 24 hours. This confident bet became a running element in their rivalry, with Crane consistently underestimate Lanyard's abilities.

Crane's wager established the comedic rivalry between the two that would play out throughout the film.

Lanyard escaped from the crooks' lair after being knocked out by discovering a secret door. When he found the hidden entrance to the criminals' headquarters, he was ambushed and knocked unconscious. However, he managed to recover and escape during the confusion, then continued his pursuit of the criminals who had fled with the plates.

The secret door was part of the criminals' elaborate escape infrastructure, which Lanyard used against them.