two o'clock
`` But I ca n't think of anything else , '' said Tom . `` What the deuce is the good of telling a fellow not to think about it ? '' Diogenes apparently had nothing particular to reply , for he put his flute to his mouth again ; and at the sound of the `` toot , toot '' Tom caught up his gown and fled into the quadrangle . The crew had had their early dinner of steaks and chops , stale bread , and a glass and a half of old beer a piece at two o'clock , in the Captain 's rooms . The current theory of training at that time was -- as much meat as you could eat , the more underdone the better , and the smallest amount of drink upon which you could manage to live . Two pints in the twenty-four hours was all that most boat 's crews that pretended to train at all were allowed , and for the last fortnight it had been the nominal allowance of the St. Ambrose crew . The discomfort of such a diet in the hot summer months , when you were at the same time taking regular and violent exercise , was something very serious .