"What's the name of the thing old Philpot's always at ?" "What, chemistry?
Jolly good idea, old man! Let's go in for that." "Not a bad lark," said Cusack--"lots of explosions and things.

Philpot told me he could make Pharaoh's serpents, and smells like rotten eggs.
We'll get him to coach us, eh, Pil ?" "I'm game," said Pil, no less delighted than his friend at this happy thought.
And, full of their new idea of "going it steady," the two worthies forthwith sallied out and made hue and cry for Philpot.
Unless Philpot in his leisure moments was engaged in some predatory expedition, or happened to be serving a term of imprisonment in the detention room, it was a pretty safe guess to look for him in the laboratory, where as an ardent student of science he was permitted to resort, and within certain limits practise for himself.

Philpot himself bore the office of "second under bottle-washer" in Willoughby; that is, he assisted the boy who assisted the chemistry fag who assisted the assistant master to the science master; and _on_ the strength of this distinction he was allowed some special privileges in the way of improving himself in his favourite branch of study.

He was on the whole rather a promising pupil, and had a very fair idea of the properties of the several substances he was allowed to experiment with.

Indeed he had had to pass an examination and perform some experiments in the presence of the master before he was allowed to enter the laboratory as a private student at all.