Joe could not resist the soldiers. There was nothing he could do. They didn't have to lift him off the floor. They just pushed him out the gate.
As they pushed him, Joe was observing. He was pushed past the room given to the tailors. Two women and a man stared through the window with commiseration, boldly written on their faces. He saw them staring and he could also sense wretchedness from them.
Two soldiers grabbed him and threw him hard against the wall. Two other soldiers soon joined them with five horsewhips and left. They were junior soldiers and weren't allowed to stay.
Joe could see Toby and the million soldiers he had promised. The whips kept dropping on his back and he wasn't feeling the pain but he was counting.
'Whaaa!', he thought. He must have misund
