The Lone Wolf Takes a Chance

Michael Lanyard and his valet Jamison spot a cat wearing a pearl necklace and decide to follow it. They track the cat to a bank, where a trap springs and bars trap them inside. Inspector Crane vows to finally nail his nemesis and bets Lanyard two months' salary that he can't stay out of trouble for 24 hours.

Crane is certain the arrest will soon come, even without the cat's distraction. He wagers Lanyard two months' salary that he cannot stay out of trouble for 24 hours. The cat's appearance shatters Crane's easy victory and stirs the broader chase.

Lanyard is staying in the same hotel as Gloria Foster, and Johnny Baker receives a telegram claiming Foster has information about his invention. The telegram leads to a trap: two men capture Baker in the hall while Wallace, a former private detective with him, tries to intervene. Wallace is shot and falls to his death, taking Lanyard's shade pull cord with him.

Lanyard spots the discarded telegram and escapes the hotel, while Jamison tails the criminals to keep track of them. Crane arrives and, missing Lanyard's shade pull cord, suspects him in Wallace's murder. The chase moves from the hotel into the city as the pieces begin to move.

Lanyard visits Foster again and learns she holds information crucial to Baker’s invention. A newsreel reveals that Baker’s ‘burglar-proof’ government mail car will carry currency engraving plates on its maiden trip, and that Baker is the only person who knows the combination. Foster’s involvement becomes a key piece of the criminals’ plan.

Jamison tail-catches the criminals to the station, and Frank Jordan and Johnny (in a stretcher) board the train carrying the mail car. Lanyard orders Jamison to join them, and Lanyard and Foster race to the next station to intercept. The cross-country chase is underway.

Inside the criminals' compartment, Lanyard finds Baker bound and gagged and Evelyn Jordan guarding him while 'Dr.' Hilton appears. The train’s atmosphere grows tense as the conductor receives Crane’s message to hold Lanyard and Jamison. Dr. Tupman presents a gravely ill patient, a misdirection that buys the crooks time while they decide Foster’s fate.

The thieves force Baker to open the mail car, and Crane takes custody of Lanyard and Jamison, hoping Foster can exonerate him. Evelyn Jordan answers Crane’s knock and the crooks depart with Foster. Lanyard and Jamison manage to escape and continue the pursuit.

Lanyard and Jamison steal a taxi and chase the criminals’ ambulance, but their efforts end in a ditch. They press on on foot and hear a scream from an abandoned house, where they rescue Foster. Lanyard then sends Foster and Jamison to the authorities while he keeps pursuing the criminals.

Crane arrives with Sheriff Haggerty and takes Lanyard into custody, but Lanyard escapes. He discovers a secret door to the crooks' lair and is knocked out as the criminals flee with the currency plates. Jamison sabotages the ambulance, and Tupman hides the plates by lowering them down a well; the chase goes on.

With the combination still unseen, Lanyard spots a possible solution through a newsreel at a theatre. Enlarged footage reveals Baker’s final code, enabling Lanyard to plan a daring interception. The plan uses the information learned from the reel to approach the train on new terms.

Lanyard arranges a chartered airplane to overtake the stalled train and sets a stop signal. He boards the car just as police close in, rescuing Baker before the car’s gas trap goes off. The criminals are captured and Lanyard’s adventure ends with the case resolved.