At their head were a number of high officials, and our new recruit whispered in a hoarse voice that an old man was no other than Jung Lu, the Manchu Generalissimo, who had command of everything.  But whether this was actually so or not, there could be no doubt about the soldiery.  They were ch’in ping, or body-guard troops, in sky-blue tunics, and this retirement was the most significant of all.  There was now not a shadow of doubt.

We waited patiently in some trepidation, until the sound of these galloping hoofs had died away completely and then peering out and finding the coast clear, we ran for it as hard as we could leg.  Faster and faster we spun along; we were not as safe as we thought, Three minutes brought us back again on Customs Street, and, panting sorely from this unaccustomed exertion, we looked around.  Here there was now not a single sound, not the sight of a single man.

For many minutes nothing again occurred, but at length more Chinese troops began to appear, all running rapidly in long flights, and a troop of cavalry came out of a side street not more than two hundred yards away from where we lay, and headed away at a furious gallop.  Everybody was obviously making for the north of the city; what was going on in the other quarters to cause this exodus?  The cavalry, as they moved in close formation, were so tempting, that without hesitation once more our rifles rang out in a well-knit volley.  That caused a terrible commotion, for cavalry are an easy mark.  Ponies broke away and galloped frantically into side streets; there was a waving and a mix-up which blurred everything, and yet before we had time to realise it, bullets were hissing all round us and kicking up little spurts of dust a few inches from our bodies; a resolute commander was in front of us.  This firing became so violent that we were driven to take shelter, and as we ran and were seen the bullets hissed quicker and quicker.  Then as suddenly as it had commenced this pelting ceased; we saw our cavalrymen flicker away in the distance, and once more everything was absolutely quiet.  It was obvious that something so urgent was taking place, that no one had any time to lose in pranks.

Many minutes elapsed before we noticed any fresh signs of life, and we remained spread across the street on our stomachs, earnestly searching in vain for some explanation.  At last, when I was becoming tired of it, figures began to move on the long street again—­little indecisive blue dots that jerked forward, halted, appeared and disappeared in a most curious way.  They were also coming towards us—­jerking about like people possessed.  Climbing a wall, I brought my glasses to bear; they were ordinary townspeople, there was not a shadow of doubt about that, men, women, and children, running violently, waving and calling to one another, and apparently much distressed.