Meanwhile, Valjean, sitting on a slope in the Champ de Mars, is pondering the new dangers that are threatening his safety. Several times he has seen Thénardier roaming the neighborhood. The political unrest has made the police extremely vigilant, and he is afraid of becoming an accidental victim of their investigations. Finally, a fresh and enigmatic inscription on his garden wall adds to his preoccupation: "16 Rue de la Verrerie" is simply Marius' address, which he has written on the wall so that Cosette will know where to find him, but to Valjean it is a sinister sign. As he ponders, a note from the ever-watchful Eponine falls in front of him. It contains one significant word: "Move." This is the last straw; he decides to obey the note's warning.
Marius leaves his grandfather's house in a state of absolute despair. His rational faculties have abandoned him, and, like a robot, he walks the streets for hours. The next day, after a restless night, he resumes his wanderings, but without really knowing why, he takes Javert's pistols with him. Obsessed by his pain and the thought of his last rendezvous with Cosette, he is only dimly aware of the rumblings of the uprising.
