Great Expectations Confusion

Great Expectations has been an easier read then I thought it was going to be, but that doesn't mean I haven't been confused when reading some parts. In chapter five on page 34, I was confused by this paragraph: "It was a run indeed now, and what Joe called, in the only two words he spoke all the time, "a Winder." Down banks and up banks, and over gates, and splashing into dikes, and breaking among coarse rushes: no man cared where he went. As we came nearer to the shouting, it became more and more apparent that it was made by more than one voice. Sometimes, it seemed to stop altogether, and then the soldiers stopped. When it broke out again, the soldiers made for it at a greater rate than ever, and we after them." 
My first question is, why are they in such a rush to get to the scene? Another is, why would the soldiers ever stop? And also, why was there so much shouting going on?

Group Essay Collaboration

I have not made any big changes to my paper this weekend. All I have done is fixed some spelling errors and worked on not overusing words. Cecily goes from being a bored school girl to not being lonely and bored anymore. All we need to do know is make sure all of our paragraphs will flow.


Here's a couple questions I need answered:
1. Is this a good way to end my paragraph?

From start to finish of the novel, marriage changed Cecily’s dull life into a much more exciting one.

2. What is a word that I could say instead of saying "boring" over and over?