Chapter 217 15 Jondret Purchasing Supplies

A little later, near three o'clock, Courfeyrac, accompanied by Bossuet, happened to pass by the Rue Mouffard.The snow fell harder and filled the space.Bossuet was saying to Courfeyrac: "When you see this mass of snow falling, you will say that there are thousands of white butterflies in the sky." Suddenly, Bossuet saw Marius walking up to the wicket in the middle of the street, with a strange look. "Hey!" exclaimed Bossuet, "Marius!" "I saw it long ago," said Courfeyrac, "you don't need to call him." "why?" "He's busy."

"What are you busy with?" "Didn't you see his look?" "What kind of air?" "Looks like he's following someone." "Indeed," said Bossuet. "Look at those eyes," continued Courfeyrac. "But what the hell is he following?" "It must be some beautiful sister with a fancy hat! He's in heat." "But," Bossuet pointed out, "I don't see any beauty in this street, nor sisters, nor fancy hats. Not a single woman." Courfeyrac looked carefully and exclaimed: "He was with a man!"

It was indeed a man, wearing a peaked cap, walking in front of Marius, at a distance of some twenty paces, and though only his back was visible, his gray beard could be seen. The man was wearing a brand new overcoat that was too baggy and a pair of tattered trousers that were covered in black mud. Bossuet laughed out loud. "Who is this?" "This?" replied Courfeyrac. "It's a poet. Poets often wear the trousers of a rabbit-skin peddler and the riding jacket of the French Seminary." "I'd like to see where Marius goes," said Bossuet, "and where the man goes, and we'll go with them, shall we?"

"Bossuet!" exclaimed Courfeyrac excitedly, "Eagle of Meaux! What a troublemaker you have never been. Go with a follower!" They go back and forth. Marius did indeed see Jondrette passing in the Rue Mouffard, and followed him to spy on him. Jondrette walked ahead, unexpectedly, an eye was fixed on him. He left the Rue Mouffard, and Marius saw him go into one of the most shabby houses in the Rue Glaciers, and return to the Rue Mouffard after a quarter of an hour or so.He went into the iron shop that had opened at the corner of the rue Pierre-Lombardy, and a few minutes later Marius saw him come out of the shop with a blunt chisel with a white Hide below.At the Rue Petit-Gentilly he turned left and hurried to the Rue Petit Bankers.It was getting dark, and the snow that had stopped for a while began to fall again.Marius hid himself at the corner of the little Rue des Bankers, which had always been deserted, and did not follow Jondrette.Fortunately he did not follow, for Jondrette approached the low wall where Marius had heard the long-haired and bearded talking just now, and suddenly turned his head to see if anyone was following him. Just stepped over the wall and disappeared.

The wasteland behind the wall opened into the backyard of a man who had originally hired a horse-drawn carriage, a man of bad repute and bankrupt, though he still had a few wrecks in his garage. It occurred to Marius that it would be safer to return as soon as Jondrette was away.Besides, it was getting late, and Mama Birgon, as a rule, locked the gate at dusk before going to the town to do the dishes every afternoon. Marius had given the scout his key, so he had to hurry. . The night fell, and the sky was almost completely dark. In the boundless sky, there was only one point illuminated by the sun, and that was the moon.

The red light of the moon rose from behind the low dome of the women's almshouse. Marius hurried back to No. 50-52 with great strides.The door was still open when he got home.He went up the stairs on tiptoe, and slipped along the passage wall to his door.On both sides of the aisle, we remember, were some shabby rooms, all vacant at that time for rent.Mama Birgon always left those doors open.As he passed the doorways of the empty rooms, Marius fancied he saw in one of them four figures standing motionless, dimly paled by the remnants of daylight through the skylight.Marius did not look closely for fear of attracting attention.At last he quietly returned to his room without being seen by others.It was just the right time, and after a short while, he heard Birgon's mother leave and the door closed.