The Case of The Misguided Millionaire

" I need your help, Mr. Flint, " said a voice breathlessly. " I'm afraid I'm going to be murdered."

Flint looked up as a tall man with dark hair and frightened eyes sat down in his office.

" Suppose you just relax a moment and tell me what this is all about, " Flint advised the man kindly.

" I'm Roland Crisp, " the visitor explained. " I'm due to inherit over a million dollars on my thirty-fifth birthday, which is next week. If I'm not alive on my thirty-fifth birthday, the money goes to my cousin, an unprincipled scoundrel named Pete De Champ. He would stop at nothing-even murder-to get the fortune. "

That explains the man's frightened eyes, thought Flint..

" How can I help? " the detective asked. " If my cousin decides to have me murdered, he'll have a perfect opportunity next week. Three days before my birthday. I'm planning to go on a trip to the northern woods, to photograph animals in their natural surroundings. I'll need a guide. I'm meeting with several possible guides this afternoon, and I want you to be with me. It's possible that my cousin will try to arrange for the guide to murder me in the woods. Maybe you can help me decide which guide not to hire."

Flint agreed to the plan, and found himself sitting in Crisp's living room as the first man entered to be interviewed.

" I've been guiding people through the northern woods for fifteen years now, son, " a shaggy-haired old man assured them. " Know my way around better than yon know your own face. You tell me what you want to see, I'll take you to it. I know parts of that woods that few people have ever seen-places where there are so many animals you won't know where to point your camera first."

The second candidate was a stern-looking man with a heavy accent and an air of professional competence. " You must understand the life cycle of the woods to be a good guide, and I do. I studied science in my student days, and I have lived most of my life in or near woods. I have a feeling for all living things. I can teach you, so your photographs will reflect this feeling, this concern for life."

When he left, a third man came in-one with bad teeth and a ruddy complexion. " We have a great deal of fun when I take a group through the woods, " he said. " It's exhilarating. Why, I remember the last group I took through the woods, not more than four weeks ago. After a long day of hard hiking, we roasted game over the campfire. Then we all settled down for the night in our sleeping bags. Those people told me afterwards how beautiful it was for them city folks to sleep out under the stars, listening to songbirds, smelling the clean cool air, and feeling themselves surrounded by nature. Yon can have the same experience, mister, if you'll hire me as your guide. "

After the door had closed behind him, Flint turned to Crisp and said, " You were right. One of the men we just interviewed is not a real guide. That man might be the potential murderer you're afraid of"

WHICH MAN WAS NOT A REAL GUIDE? HOW DID DETECTIVE AB. TEMUS FLINT KNOW?