After the first attack had been beaten off, everyone kept watch on the main barricade only. Marius, suddenly uneasy about the small barricade, went over to it. There was no one there, only a lamp flickering between the paving stones, and the lane lay deep in silence.
As he turned to go, he heard his name called faintly out of the dark: Monsieur Marius. It was the very voice that had called to him through the railings of the Rue Plumet two hours before, but now it was little more than a breath. He looked around and saw no one, and the voice spoke again: down here, at your feet.
Bending down, he saw something crawling towards him through the dark. By the lamp he made out a workman’s smock, torn corduroy trousers, bare feet, and what looked like a pool of blood, and a pale face looked up at him and asked: don’t you know me? When he said he did not, she told him: it’s Éponine.