Part 5 Book 3 Chapter 2 Explanation

On the day of the sixth of June, a battue of the sewers had been ordered. It was feared that the vanquished might have taken to them for refuge, and Prefect Gisquet was to search occult Paris while General Bugeaud swept public Paris; a double and connected operation which exacted a double strategy on the part of the public force, represented above by the army and below by the police. Three squads of agents and sewermen explored the subterranean drain of Paris, the first on the right bank, the second on the left bank, the third in the city. The agents of police were armed with carabines, with bludgeons, swords and poignards.

That which was directed at Jean Valjean at that moment, was the lantern of the patrol of the right bank.

This patrol had just visited the curving gallery and the three blind alleys which lie beneath the Rue du Cadran. While they were passing their lantern through the depths of these blind alleys, Jean Valjean had encountered on his path the entrance to the gallery, had perceived that it was narrower than the principal passage and had not penetrated thither. He had passed on. The police, on emerging from the gallery du Cadran, had fancied that they heard the sound of footsteps in the direction of the belt sewer. They were, in fact, the steps of Jean Valjean. The sergeant in command of the patrol had raised his lantern, and the squad had begun to gaze into the mist in the direction whence the sound proceeded.

This was an indescribable moment for Jean Valjean.

Happily, if he saw the lantern well, the lantern saw him but ill. It was light and he was shadow. He was very far off, and mingled with the darkness of the place. He hugged the wall and halted. Moreover, he did not understand what it was that was moving behind him. The lack of sleep and food, and his emotions had caused him also to pass into the state of a visionary. He beheld a gleam, and around that gleam, forms. What was it? He did not comprehend.

Jean Valjean having paused, the sound ceased.

The men of the patrol listened, and heard nothing, they looked and saw nothing. They held a consultation.

There existed at that epoch at this point of the Montmartre sewer a sort of cross-roads called de service, which was afterwards suppressed, on account of the little interior lake which formed there, swallowing up the torrent of rain in heavy storms. The patrol could form a cluster in this open space. Jean Valjean saw these spectres form a sort of circle. These bull-dogs' heads approached each other closely and whispered together.

The result of this council held by the watch dogs was, that they had been mistaken, that there had been no noise, that it was useless to get entangled in the belt sewer, that it would only be a waste of time, but that they ought to hasten towards Saint-Merry; that if there was anything to do, and any "bousingot" to track out, it was in that quarter.

From time to time, parties re-sole their old insults. In 1832, the word bousingot formed the interim between the word jacobin, which had become obsolete, and the word demagogue which has since rendered such excellent service.

The sergeant gave orders to turn to the left, towards the watershed of the Seine.

If it had occurred to them to separate into two squads, and to go in both directions, Jean Valjean would have been captured. All hung on that thread. It is probable that the instructions of the prefecture, foreseeing a possibility of combat and insurgents in force, had forbidden the patrol to part company. The patrol resumed its march, leaving Jean Valjean behind it. Of all this movement, Jean Valjean perceived nothing, except the eclipse of the lantern which suddenly wheeled round.

Before taking his departure, the Sergeant, in order to acquit his policeman's conscience, discharged his gun in the direction of Jean Valjean. The detonation rolled from echo to echo in the crypt, like the rumbling of that titanic entrail. A bit of plaster which fell into the stream and splashed up the water a few paces away from Jean Valjean, warned him that the ball had struck the arch over his head.

Slow and measured steps resounded for some time on the timber work, gradually dying away as they retreated to a greater distance; the group of black forms vanished, a glimmer of light oscillated and floated, communicating to the vault a reddish glow which grew fainter, then disappeared; the silence became profound once more, the obscurity became complete, blindness and deafness resumed possession of the shadows; and Jean Valjean, not daring to stir as yet, remained for a long time leaning with his back against the wall, with straining ears, and dilated pupils, watching the disappearance of that phantom patrol.

在六月六日的白天，上级命令搜索阴渠。他们担心战败者以此作为避难所，警署署长吉斯凯负责搜查巴黎的隐蔽处，同时由毕若将军肃清巴黎公开的暴民；双重的有联系的作战需要官方武力的双重战略，这股力量上面有军队代表，下面则由警署承担。三个由警察和阴渠清洁工人组成的小队探索着巴黎的地下管道。一队在河右岸，二队在河左岸，三队在市中心。

警察有马枪、棍棒、刀和剑武装着。

此时照着冉阿让的，是河右岸的巡逻队的灯笼。

这组巡逻队刚检查了钟面街下面的弯曲的巷道和三条死胡同。当他们用手提灯笼探照死胡同尽头时，冉阿让在路上已到过巷道口，认为比总渠窄而未进入，他就走过去了。这些警察走出钟面街的巷道时，好象听见有声音从总渠那个方向传来，这确是冉阿让的脚步声。警察班长举起灯笼，那小队开始朝听见声音的那边迷雾中探望。

这对冉阿让是无可言状的一刹那。

幸而，虽然他看清了灯笼，灯笼可照不见他。它是光而他是黑影。他在很远处，隐在那儿的黑色中。他停下来，靠墙缩着。

再说，他也不明白在他后面移动的是什么。失眠、没有进食以及紧张的情绪，使他也进入见到幻影的境界。他见到一个火光，在火光四周有妖魔。这是些什么？他不了解。

冉阿让停下来，声音也没有了。

巡逻队静听后一无所闻。他们看了看，什么也看不见。他们商量了一下。

当时在蒙马特尔这边的阴渠里有一种十字路口叫“值勤处”，后又被取消了，因为那里积水成塘，这是倾盆大雨时雨水的急流在那里遇到了阻碍后形成的。巡逻队就缩在这交叉路口。

冉阿让看见这些妖魔围成一圈。这些猛犬的头靠拢在一起，低声说话。

开会的结果这些守夜犬认为是搞错了，并没有什么声音，也没有什么人在这儿，没有必要钻进总沟渠，这是浪费时间，应该赶紧到圣美里那边去，并认为如有什么事要做或有什么“布桑戈”要追踪，那也是在这个地区。

党派不时给旧的诅咒换上新装，在一八三二年，“布桑戈”这个词替代了已过时的雅各宾派和当时还不通用但后来非常有贡献的德马格派①。

①德马格派（démagogue），煽动群众者。　

班长下令向左转沿塞纳河坡岸前进。如果他想到分成两组朝两个方向去，冉阿让就被捕了。这真是一发千钧之际。可能警署有指示，估计到会和人数众多的暴动者作战，不准巡逻队分散。巡逻队又开始走了，把冉阿让留在后面，这一切，除了灯笼忽然转向消失外，冉阿让一无所知。

在未离去之前，为了尽到警察的责任，班长向离去的地方，朝着冉阿让的方向开枪射击，枪声在地下坟墓中引起不断回响，就象提坦巨人的肠鸣。一块泥土掉入小股流水中，使水溅到冉阿让前面几步的地方，这告诉他枪弹已打中了他头上的拱顶了。

整齐而缓慢的脚步声在渠道中回响，不断增加的距离使它慢慢弱下去。那群黑影钻进深处，一点微光摇晃着，浮动着，形成了一个圆形的浅红色暗光，照在拱顶上。这圆光逐渐减退，于是消失。深沉的寂静又出现了，又回到了彻底的黑暗中，耳聋眼瞎又重新与黑暗作伴；冉阿让还不敢动弹，很久很久一直靠着墙壁，竖起耳朵，睁大眼睛，望着这鬼影巡逻队的消失。