Jean Valjean zigzagged through the streets, hoping to lose anyone pursuing him. The moon was full, and Valjean took advantage of that. He glided along the dark side of every street while keeping a watchful eye on the light side. He didn’t know where he was taking Cosette; he only knew that they must never return to the Gorbeau house.
Valjean tried to reassure himself. Perhaps the man he had seen was not really Javert. After all, why would Javert be looking for him? Everyone thought that Valjean had died when he fell from the mast of the ship. Even Valjean had read his own obituary in the newspaper! Still, strange things had been happening the past few days, and he couldn’t take any chances, especially now that his beloved Cosette was in his care.
When a church clock chimed at midnight, Valjean and Cosette were hiding in a doorway on the edge of a square. Suddenly four large men entered the square and stopped. They appeared unsure about where to go next. One man pointed in the direction directly opposite Valjean. But the man who seemed to be the leader turned and pointed straight at Valjean. Although the leader could not see Valjean and Cosette huddled in the darkness, Valjean could see his face in the moonlight. It was definitely Javert.
While the men hesitated, Valjean gathered Cosette in his arms and slipped quietly away. He decided to cross the Seine River to another part of Paris. When he reached the other side, he turned and looked back to be sure he hadn’t been followed. Four shadows were starting to walk across the bridge. Valjean headed into a maze of small streets, turning left and right and left again.
But then he suddenly realized that he was trapped in a long cul-de-sac. At one end a guard stood silently. At the other was a high brick wall. Valjean was still a very strong man and he was an expert climber. If he had been by himself, he could easily have wedged himself into the corner between the wall and a tall building and climbed to the top of the wall. But how could he take Cosette with him?
Valjean studied the situation. There was a five-foot pile of stones in the corner, perhaps left there so that beggars would not find it a convenient place to sleep. But once he climbed the pile, it was still 15 feet to the top of the wall. What he needed was a rope. He heard the muffled sound of marching as seven or eight soldiers approached, their bayonets glimmering in the moonlight.
Because of that moonlight, the streetlamps had not been lit. Valjean realized the streetlamps held his answer. A long rope ran down the street connecting all the lamps; the lamplighter used this to lower the lamps to light them. Quickly Valjean ran to the nearest lamp and cut a length of rope. He wrapped this under Cosette’s arms and tied it.
"Stay quiet," he whispered. Then just to make sure she obeyed he added, "Madame Thenardier is after you."
Cosette’s eyes grew wide and she stifled a whimper. If only she had Catharine to comfort her. But she had left her beloved doll behind when they fled.
"Put your back against the wall." Valjean took off his shoes, coat, and hat, and threw them over the wall.
Then he wedged himself into the corner, took the rope in his teeth, and began to climb, pushing against the bricks with all his strength. In no time he was at the top of the wall. He lowered Cosette onto the roof of what looked like a shed and then to the ground.
"Search the cul-de-sac!" roared Javert from the other side of the wall. "He must be here someplace."
Cosette trembled and moved close to Valjean. After a quarter of an hour, they heard the soldiers leave, and Valjean stepped out of the shed to look for better shelter. They seemed to be in the middle of a garden. He found a large building, but all the doors and windows were locked.
"What is this strange place in the middle of Paris?" he murmured.
Cosette was sleeping. Suddenly Valjean heard the sound of a bell. He peered from the shed and saw a man limping through the garden. Every time the man moved, the bell sounded. If this stranger discovered them, the man would surely turn them over to the police.
While Valjean was wondering what to do next, he touched Cosette’s hand. It was as cold as ice. He called her name, but she didn’t wake, not even when he shook her. His heart raced. Was she dead? He bent closer and saw that she was still breathing. But it was so cold outside. He needed to get her in front of a fire immediately.
Valjean walked straight to the man in the garden and held out a wad of money.
"A hundred francs for you," said Valjean, "if you’ll give us lodging for the night."
The man started, blinked several times, and then broke into a grin. "Oh, Mayor Madeleine, you gave me a fright!"
Now it was Valjean’s turn to be startled. Mayor Madeleine? He hadn’t been called that in what seemed like an eternity.
"How did you get in here?" asked the gardener. "Did you fall from the sky?"
"Who are you and what is this place?" asked Valjean.
"Oh, that’s a good one," replied the gardener. "I’m Fauchelevent and this is the convent where you found me employment as a gardener."
"But what are you doing out here so late? And why do you wear a bell?"
"I’m covering some plants so they won’t be damaged by the frost. The bell warns the nuns and the convent schoolgirls that I’m near."
"Listen to me, Fauchelevent," Valjean pleaded. "I saved your life once, and now I need you to do the same for me. Don’t tell anyone that you’ve seen me and don’t try to find out anything more about me. Can you get a girl in front of a fire before she freezes to death?"
Cosette and Valjean were soon safely inside Fauchelevent’s cottage. It was a crime for a man to be at the convent, but Valjean also realized that it could be a haven for him. If he could get permission to stay, no one would think to look for him there.
"I’m delighted to have a chance to repay you," said Fauchelevent when Valjean asked him about staying. "You could pretend to be Ultimus Fauchelevent, my brother, and Cosette could be your granddaughter. I could tell the head of the convent that I’m growing old and tired, and you can help me in the garden."
Soon Valjean was working in the garden, and Cosette traded her mourning clothes for a school uniform. Valjean packed the black outfit away in a small suitcase. He could not bear to give up this reminder of the first days they had spent together.
Every day, while taking a break from her studies, Cosette was allowed to visit him for an hour. In this way they passed several happy years together.