Les Misérables, Book 3: Mud, but the Soul, Chapter 3 summary

What happens

1. During public unrest, a police agent slowly follows a ragged man along a deserted stretch of the Seine.
2. The agent signals an empty cab, whose driver follows the pursuit along the upper quay.
3. The fugitive passes the ramp and continues toward a narrowing bank where escape seems impossible.
4. He disappears behind rubble, and the agent finds no trace of him beyond it.
5. The agent discovers a locked grate, concludes that the fugitive has a government key, and stays to watch.

What to notice

The outburst states the agent’s conclusion about the locked entrance. His pursuit becomes a watch for movement through the grate.

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