nine o'clock
True , the general system was rough and hard , and there was bullying in nooks and corners -- bad signs for the future ; but it never got farther , or dared show itself openly , stalking about the passages and hall and bedrooms , and making the life of the small boys a continual fear . Tom , as a new boy , was of right excused fagging for the first month , but in his enthusiasm for his new life this privilege hardly pleased him ; and East and others of his young friends , discovering this , kindly allowed him to indulge his fancy , and take their turns at night fagging and cleaning studies . These were the principal duties of the fags in the house . From supper until nine o'clock three fags taken in order stood in the passages , and answered any praepostor who called `` Fag , '' racing to the door , the last comer having to do the work . This consisted generally of going to the buttery for beer and bread and cheese -LRB- for the great men did not sup with the rest , but had each his own allowance in his study or the fifth-form room -RRB- , cleaning candlesticks and putting in new candles , toasting cheese , bottling beer , and carrying messages about the house ; and Tom , in the first blush of his hero-worship , felt it a high privilege to receive orders from and be the bearer of the supper of old Brooke . And besides this night-work , each praepostor had three or four fags specially allotted to him , of whom he was supposed to be the guide , philosopher , and friend , and who in return for these good offices had to clean out his study every morning by turns , directly after first lesson and before he returned from breakfast . And the pleasure of seeing the great men 's studies , and looking at their pictures , and peeping into their books , made Tom a ready substitute for any boy who was too lazy to do his own work .