As his work at the office became heavier, Flash tended to lose interest in the fire case. Twice he was sent out to take strike pictures which won words of approval from Riley. His week-end pay check had been increased by another five dollars and it was evident he stood in favor.
Entering the office unexpectedly one morning, Flash overheard Fred Orris talking with another photographer in the darkroom.
“Evans is riding high these days,” said Orris contemptuously. “He sure has the big head and has it bad! One of these times we may see him take a tumble.”
“And would you enjoy it!” thought Flash.
While the remark angered him, he gathered up his camera equipment and left the office without Orris knowing he had been there. However, he made up his mind that in the future he must be more careful than ever. The head photographer was only waiting for an opportunity to humiliate him and cause him to lose his job.
“Orris must have been the one who took my fire pictures, too,” he told himself.
Not only did Flash fulfill his regular assignments, but he spent hours of his own time thinking up ideas for special human interest pictures. He felt encouraged when one of his shots, a character study of a sailor, appeared in the rotogravure section of the Ledger.
One afternoon Flash was sent to an office building to take a picture of an executive who had figured prominently in the news. As he stood at a window waiting to see the man, he chanced to glance across the park. The Tower building, a slender stone structure and the highest in Brandale, rose twenty-two stories above the sidewalk.
Many times Flash had photographed the edifice for his own album, but never before had he viewed the tower from this particular angle. He was struck with the thought that he might be able to get a remarkable night picture from the windows of one of the buildings on the south side of the square.
“I’ll come back here tonight and try it!” he decided. “Even if the Ledger can’t use it, I’d like one for my collection.”