[Jean remains for a moment, standing doggedly apart; then he steps over to the chair awaiting him, jerks it back, and sinks into it, without looking up.]


Scene III

Time: Daybreak the next morning.

Place: The Bishop's dining room.

[The room is dark, except for a faint light that comes in through window curtains. Jean Valjean creeps in from the alcove. He carries his knapsack and cudgel in one hand; in the other, his shoes. He opens the window overlooking the garden; the room becomes lighter. Jean steps to the mantel and lifts a silver candlestick.]

Jean (whispering). Two hundred francs—double what I have earned in nineteen years!

[He puts it in his knapsack; takes up the other candlestick; shudders, and sets it down again.]

No, no, he is good—he called me "sir"—

[He stands still, staring before him, his hand still gripping the candlestick. Suddenly he straightens up; speaks bitterly.]