il?"
replied Cusack. "Awfully brickish of you, Philpot."

Philpot took the compliment very complacently, and the two students
settled themselves one on either side of the table and waited for
operations to begin.

"Wire in, old man," said Pilbury, encouragingly; "cut all the jaw, you
know, and start with the experiments. Can't you give us a jolly flare-
up to begin with?"

"All serene," said Philpot, who had now quite recovered his humour, and
was pleased to find himself in the position of an instructor of youth,
"wait a bit, then."

He reached down from a shelf a large saucer containing water, in which
lay a round substance rather like the end of a stick of peppermint-rock.
On this Philpot began to operate with a pair of scissors, greatly to
the amusement of his spectators, for try all he would he couldn't get
hold of it.

"What are you trying to do?" said Cusack.

"Cut a bit off," said Philpot, trying to stick the substance with a long
bodkin, in order to hold it steady.

"Why, that's not the way to cut it, you old dolt," said Pilbury. "Here,
I'll do it," and he advanced to the saucer.

"What'll you do?"

"Why, fish it out, of course, and cut it then."

"You'd better not try. It's phosphorus."

"Is it, though--and what does it do?"

"Burn you, rather, unless you keep it in water. Ah, got him at last."

So saying Philpot triumphantly spiked the obstinate piece of phosphorus,
and succeeded in cutting off a small piece.

"Is that what makes the flare-up?" asked Cusack.

"Yes, wait a bit, till I get the jar."

"What jar?" asked Pilbury. "Here's one; will this do?"

"Look out, I say!" exclaimed Philpot, in great excitement; "let it go,
will you?"

"What's the row?" asked Pilbury and Cusack, both in alarm.

"Why, that's got my oxygen in it," cried Philpot, securing the bottle
and gently lifting it on to the table, taking care to hold the glass
plate that covered the mouth in its place.

"Got his what in it?" asked Cusack.

"Oxygen. It took me an hour to get."

"There's nothing in that empty jar," said Pilbury, laughing. "Isn't
there, though?" said Philpot; "it's full."

"You mean to say that jar's full of something," said Cusack. "Look
here, don't you try to stuff us up. What's the use of saying it's full
when it's empty?"

"It's full of gas, I tell you," said Philpot. "Don't you talk till you
know."

This rebuke somewhat silenced the two devotees of science, who, however,
conti