Driven by a mysterious compulsion, Valjean drives furiously to Arras. On the way, the wheels of a coach going in the opposite direction strike his, but he does not stop. At daybreak he has left Montreuil far behind. Several hours later, he stops at Hesdin to feed his horse and let him rest, only to find out his wheel has been broken in the accident. Valjean, however, will not give up. He wants to take the stagecoach. Impossible. He tries to borrow a horse. None available. He attempts to rent a carriage. There aren't any. Now he allows himself a long sigh of relief. He has done his best.
But fate has decided that he is not to be spared his tragic confrontation. Suddenly, an old woman approaches him and offers him an old wreck of a carriage. He accepts and goes on. Late in the evening, after innumerable difficulties, Valjean reaches Arras.
At Arras, Valjean sets out for the courthouse. He makes his way through a crowd of sinister-looking lawyers and attempts to get into the courtroom, but the place is packed. There are only a few seats left behind the presiding judge reserved to public officials. Reluctantly, Valjean requests admission as mayor of Montreuil. Thanks to his widespread reputation, he is welcomed with great deference. He steps into the judge's chamber and, overcome by panic, flees, only to return once more with a sense of doom. Hypnotized by the copper handle of the door, he opens it like an automaton and finds himself in the courtroom. In the semi-darkness, he discovers the accused and has the anguished vision of himself back in jail, a reversion to the degenerate and wretched creature he had been. Terrified, he sinks into a seat and bides his distress behind a pile of boxes.
