Soon Valjean’s eyes grew accustomed to the darkness. He had entered the sewer from a grate along the street, and the faint light from above penetrated the tunnel.
Valjean laid Marius down while he rested for a moment. Then he slung the wounded man across his back again and set off through the tunnel. Marius was gravely ill and unconscious. Perhaps Valjean had no chance of saving him.
Valjean had been walking for about half an hour when he saw his shadow in front of him. Puzzled, he turned around. In the distance he saw some torchlight, and behind that some people were moving. Valjean stood with his back against the wall. He must escape from these people even though he did not know their identities.
In fact, they were policemen who had been ordered to search the sewers for rebels. Luckily for Valjean, he could see the police better than they could see him. They had heard his footsteps, but now that he had stopped moving, they decided that nobody was there. Just to be sure, one policeman fired a shot in Valjean’s direction. It hit the arch over his head. Valjean remained motionless until the men turned around and disappeared in the dark.
Meanwhile another chase had been going on aboveground. A policeman had been following a suspicious character, hoping that the man might lead him to a band of criminals. As they approached the docks on the Seine River, the man disappeared behind a rubbish pile. The policeman quickened his pace, but after passing the rubbish pile, he stopped in amazement. The man he’d been pursuing was nowhere to be seen. Then he noticed a grate covering a wide, dark opening. Unlike the one near the barricade, this grate was locked.
"Of course!" said the policeman. "He went into the sewer. Somewhere he must have found a key to open the grate."
After Valjean’s encounter with the police, he continued to walk for hours with Marius on his back. He was very tired.
When he came to a large air hole, he laid Marius on the ground. In the light, he could see that Marius was still breathing despite his terrible wounds. Valjean searched Marius’ pockets and found a scrap of bread to eat. He also found the note with Marius’ name and Monsieur Gillenormand’s address.
"Now I know who he is and where to take him," said Valjean.
But at that moment, Valjean had no idea where they were. He pushed on and soon felt the stone under his feet replaced with mud.
"This is like a swamp, but I can’t go back," said Valjean. "Marius is dying, and I must press on."
The water rose up to his armpits, and yet he still kept going forward. Valjean sank deeper and struggled to keep Marius’ head above water. At last Valjean felt something solid under his feet. The path before him gradually sloped uphill and the water receded. When he reached a dry spot, Valjean sank to his knees, exhausted.
But Valjean managed to stand once more. He had carried Marius only a hundred paces when he saw a wall. Valjean looked to his left and saw a light far away.
"There’s an opening!"
Valjean no longer felt exhausted. He practically ran to the outlet, but then he stopped. It was covered with a grate, and a sturdy lock held it shut. Beyond the grate, Valjean could see docks and the river. "It’s all over," said Valjean. "We’re trapped in this place." He put his head in his hands and thought of Cosette.
Suddenly someone laid a hand on Valjean’s shoulder and said, "You want to split what’s in this guy’s pockets?"
Valjean looked up and saw Thenardier standing before him. They gazed at each other for a moment, and Valjean realized that Thenardier did not recognize him.
"You’ve obviously killed this guy and need to get out of here," Thenardier went on. "And I have a key to the grate."
Valjean nodded, but said nothing as Thenardier busied himself searching Marius’ pockets.
"That old man is an odd fellow," Thenardier thought. "There’s something strange going on here. I’m going to tear a strip from this young guy’s coat. You never know when something like that will come in handy."
Thenardier removed a few coins from Marius’ pockets and kept them all, lying to Valjean. "He didn’t have any money. Not much point in killing him, was there? Here, I’ll let you out now."
With that, he put the key in the lock and opened the grate for Valjean.
"Good luck!" said Thenardier as he locked the grate again and disappeared inside the sewer.
Valjean stood for a moment breathing in the fresh air. Then he carried Marius over to the docks. He dipped his hand into the river and let a few drops of water fall on Marius’ face. The unconscious man stirred but did not open his eyes.
Suddenly Valjean heard footsteps behind him. He turned and there stood Javert. It was Javert who had been pursing Thenardier until he disappeared into the sewer!
"Who are you?" Javert asked the mud-covered man kneeling on the dock next to Marius.
"Don’t you recognize me? I’m Valjean."
Javert stared into his eyes. "What are you doing here and who is this injured man?"
"I’ve considered myself your prisoner since I gave you my address this morning," said Valjean. "Do with me what you will, but first help me carry this boy to his grandfather’s house."
Javert studied Marius’ face. "He was in the barricade, wasn’t he? His name is Marius."
Valjean felt in Marius’ pocket and pulled out the paper with his grandfather’s address. "We must take him here, quickly before he dies."
At Monsieur Gillenormand’s house, a servant helped the two men carry Marius inside. As they got back into the carriage again, Valjean said, "Inspector Javert, grant me one more thing. Allow me to go home before you arrest me."
"Fine," said Javert, "but only for a few minutes. I’ll wait for you in the street."
At his apartment building, Valjean headed upstairs with a heavy heart. His life was over now that Javert had caught him; he was going back to prison. But he needed to say good-bye to Cosette and tell her that he’d found Marius. On the landing Valjean paused to gaze out the window. He leaned out further and looked up and down the street. To his amazement, Javert was gone!
Javert walked slowly away from Valjean’s house and headed for the river. He had been in turmoil ever since Valjean had spared his life that morning. Javert felt something new and horrible penetrating his soul: admiration for a convict. Here was a criminal who was compassionate, who took pity rather than vengeance. Surely this man could not really exist, but he did.
Javert had reached the river now, his thoughts torturing him. His whole belief system—what was right, what was wrong—had been turned upside down by Jean Valjean. He felt that he had failed somehow, that it would be impossible to continue doing his job.
Javert jumped into the river and was swept away by the current.