Marius dashed out of the barricade, Combeferre followed him. But he was too late. Gavroche was dead. Combeferre brought back the basket of cartridges; Marius bore the child. 'Alas!
' he thought, 'that which the father had done for his father, he was requiting to the son; only, Thénardier had brought back his father alive; he was bringing back the child dead.
' When Marius re-entered the redoubt with Gavroche in his arms, his face, like the child, was inundated with blood. At the moment when he had stooped to lift Gavroche, a bullet had grazed his head; he had not noticed it.
Courfeyrac untied his cravat and with it bandaged Marius’ brow. They laid Gavroche on the same table with Mabeuf, and spread over the two corpses the black shawl. There was enough of it for both the old man and the child.
Combeferre distributed the cartridges from the basket which he had brought in. This gave each man fifteen rounds to fire. Jean Valjean was still in the same place, motionless on his stone post. When Combeferre offered him his fifteen cartridges, he shook his head.
'Here’s a rare eccentric,' said Combeferre in a low voice to Enjolras. 'He finds a way of not fighting in this barricade. ' 'Which does not prevent him from defending it,' responded Enjolras. 'Heroism has its originals,' resumed Combeferre.
And Courfeyrac, who had overheard, added: 'He is another sort from Father Mabeuf. ' One thing which must be noted is, that the fire which was battering the barricade hardly disturbed the interior.
Those who have never traversed the whirlwind of this sort of war can form no idea of the singular moments of tranquillity mingled with these convulsions. Men go and come, they talk, they jest, they lounge. Some one whom we know heard a combatant