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Evening had arrived, night had almost closed in; on the
horizon and in the immensity of space, there remained but
one spot illuminated by the sun, and that was the moon.
It was rising in a ruddy glow behind the low dome of
Salpetriere.
Marius returned to No. 50-52 with great strides. The
door was still open when he arrived. He mounted the stairs
on tip-toe and glided along the wall of the corridor to his
chamber. This corridor, as the reader will remember, was
bordered on both sides by attics, all of which were, for the
moment, empty and to let. Ma’am Bougon was in the habit
of leaving all the doors open. As he passed one of these at-
tics, Marius thought he perceived in the uninhabited cell
the motionless heads of four men, vaguely lighted up by a
remnant of daylight, falling through a dormer window,
Marius made no attempt to see, not wishing to be seen
himself. He succeeded in reaching his chamber without be-
ing seen and without making any noise. It was high time. A
moment later he heard Ma’am Bougon take her departure,
locking the door of the house behind her.