Jean Valjean Dies!?!

After a slightly tedious chapter on war, Les Miserables skips back to the life of the well known convict and one time Mayor, Jean Valjean.

The part of the story I've chosen to share with you seems to be set in a dockyard in Toulon. Many ships are being made and repaired in this massive dockyard,six stories high. In a town with not much else to do, all the 'quays and jetties ' of Toulon gather to contemplate the ship Orion. The Orion had been damaged due to a long spell at sea causing her lower hull to become so damaged with barnacles that it robbed her of half her speed. While attempting to take off the sails in order to repair the ship, an accident happened. The man loosening the topsail lost his balance. The crowd of onlookers watched in awe as the man dangled wildly from the rope like"a stone in a sling." As the crowd waited for the man to relax his hold and fall to his death, a man suddenly appeared and began climbing the rigging of the ship. His red smock indicated that he was a convict, and his green hat made it apparent that he was serving a life sentence at the nearby prison. The convict grabbed the desperate man's hand, and secured the rope around his waist. All while performing an astonishing balancing act. Having done this succesfully, he climbed back up to the yard,pulling the seaman after him. The crowd burst into applause, and demanded that the convict be set free. Meanwhile, the convict was making a point of returning promptly to his labours. In order to get there more quickly, he slid down the rigging and ran along one of the lower yards. Just then, he was seen to hesitate and stagger, perhaps overtaken by exhaustion. "A great cry went up from the crowd as he was seen to fall into the sea"(336.) A boat when in after him, but was unable to save him. The search for his body continued until nightfall,but his body was never found.

The next day the local news sheet read the following:
"17 November 1823. Yesterday a convict working aboard the Orion fell into the sea and was drowned after rescuing a member of the crew. The body has not been recovered. It is assumed it was caught in the piles under the Arsenal jetty. The man's prison registration number was 9430 and his name was Jean Valjean."


What happens next? Stay tuned to find out!