smoking heap of bricks and masonry. Jack pulled himself to his feet, dazed and shaken, but OK. Then he spotted Angus lying on the road next to him. He had caught the full force of the blast and his face was white with dust and plaster. Blood was oozing from a wound on his forehead, but he looked like he was still breathing – just. There were people rushing around, shouting and pointing, but all Jack could hear was the deafening ringing in his ears. He bent down to help Angus, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a huge dark shape lurching towards them, over the rubble created by the collapsed shops. It crawled forward and then stopped.Jack couldn’t believe what he was seeing; it was an absolute monster. A battle tank, the usual caterpillar tracks, turret and main gun – yet unlike any tank Jack had ever seen. It was painted with an extraordinary black and red livery and had Chinese writing scrawled all over its sides. Two enormous flags billowed from the turret. Suddenly, a forward machine gun on the tank opened up and bullets ripped into the rear of the barricade. Then the muzzle of the tank’s massive main gun flashed and a shell buried itself in the barricade, which erupted in a storm of flying splinters and shards. At the same time the Taiping tank had attacked through the rear of the barricade, a second head-on cavalry charge was co-ordinated to the front. It took Fleming and his men completely by surprise. Jack watched in horror as the Taiping warriors began clambering over the barricade. The defenders were powerless to stop them, and Fleming’s attempt at an orderly retreat quickly turned into a rout. The soldiers were fleeing down the street away from the wrecked barricade. Jack grabbed Angus’s arm and urged him to his feet. Angus groaned.
“My head…”
“It’s just a scratch, come on, we need to get out of here…”
But Jack was too late. A swarthy arm encircled his midriff and he felt himself lifted from the ground. He was then plonked a few metres away and forced onto his knees. Jack looked up at his assailant – a huge Chinese Taiping warrior. The warrior nodded over at Captain Fleming and several of the soldiers who had also been captured by the marauders. Like Jack, they were kneeling, and they were banging their heads on the ground – kowtowing. Jack looked back up at the warrior, not quiteunderstanding what they were doing and why. The warrior jammed the butt of his sword into Jack’s ribcage. It was excruciatingly painful. The warrior grasped Jack’s hair and banged his head into the ground repeatedly. Just like the action of Fleming and the other soldiers, it seemed Jack was to keep banging his head into the ground until someone told him to stop. The warrior moved to do the same to Angus, who was still a little dazed and confused from the explosion.
The Taiping rebels now had full control of the barricade and the tank was starting to rip it apart to open up the street. Soon there was a pathway through for the horses and a posse set off in pursuit of the fleeing defenders. Jack, Angus, Fleming and the other captives were hauled up from the ground and pushed roughly into a line across the street. They were surrounded by Taiping warriors, but there was one who was clearly in charge. He was shouting something in Mandarin. Jack suddenly felt his hands wrenched behind his back and tied by a cord. Ahead, a Taiping cavalryman dismounted and approached – he was even larger than Jack’s assailant. He held an enormous broad-bladed cleaver loosely in one hand. He walked round the back of the soldier next to Jack as the officer issued another command. From the corner of his eye, Jack saw the cavalryman grasp his neighbour by the hair and push him forward. The cleaver glinted momentarily in the sunlight and then wheeled downwards onto the man’s exposed neck. The head rolled away from the body. Jack retched with horror at the sight, but then he felt a hand grasp his own hair.
He was
“My head…”
“It’s just a scratch, come on, we need to get out of here…”
But Jack was too late. A swarthy arm encircled his midriff and he felt himself lifted from the ground. He was then plonked a few metres away and forced onto his knees. Jack looked up at his assailant – a huge Chinese Taiping warrior. The warrior nodded over at Captain Fleming and several of the soldiers who had also been captured by the marauders. Like Jack, they were kneeling, and they were banging their heads on the ground – kowtowing. Jack looked back up at the warrior, not quiteunderstanding what they were doing and why. The warrior jammed the butt of his sword into Jack’s ribcage. It was excruciatingly painful. The warrior grasped Jack’s hair and banged his head into the ground repeatedly. Just like the action of Fleming and the other soldiers, it seemed Jack was to keep banging his head into the ground until someone told him to stop. The warrior moved to do the same to Angus, who was still a little dazed and confused from the explosion.
The Taiping rebels now had full control of the barricade and the tank was starting to rip it apart to open up the street. Soon there was a pathway through for the horses and a posse set off in pursuit of the fleeing defenders. Jack, Angus, Fleming and the other captives were hauled up from the ground and pushed roughly into a line across the street. They were surrounded by Taiping warriors, but there was one who was clearly in charge. He was shouting something in Mandarin. Jack suddenly felt his hands wrenched behind his back and tied by a cord. Ahead, a Taiping cavalryman dismounted and approached – he was even larger than Jack’s assailant. He held an enormous broad-bladed cleaver loosely in one hand. He walked round the back of the soldier next to Jack as the officer issued another command. From the corner of his eye, Jack saw the cavalryman grasp his neighbour by the hair and push him forward. The cleaver glinted momentarily in the sunlight and then wheeled downwards onto the man’s exposed neck. The head rolled away from the body. Jack retched with horror at the sight, but then he felt a hand grasp his own hair.
He was
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