The second table was heaped over with a blaze of gorgeous orchids and tropical plants, which looked strangely out of place in the great bleak room.

A row of microscopes bristled along the edge.

The third was the most appalling of all, for it was bare with the exception of several sheets of paper and a pencil.
Chemistry was the most dangerous of the many traps set to ensnare the unwary student.
"Dillon--botany; Dimsdale--zoology; Douglas--chemistry," the janitor shouted once more, and the candidates moved in front of the respective tables.

Tom found himself facing a great spider crab, which appeared to be regarding him with a most malignant expression upon its crustacean features.

Behind the crab sat a little professor, whose projecting eyes and crooked arms gave him such a resemblance to the creature in front that the student could not help smiling.
"Sir," said a tall, clean-shaven man at the other end of the table, "be serious.