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barricade was enormous—three stories high and seven hundred feet long. Built in front of an inn, it blocked the entrance to three streets.
    Anything and everything went into building the barricade. Doors, screens, broken windows, bedroom furniture, stoves, chairs, pots and pans. Whatever was at hand.
    Behind the barricade young men with guns waited for the king’s soldiers to come down the street.
    I got there at dawn, just as men with families were being sent home.
    â€œThere must be no unnecessary deaths,” Marius was saying. “Those men with wives and children must leave at once.”
    â€œIn another fifteen minutes it will be too late,” said Enjolras, their leader. “The soldiers will be here.”
    I offered to stay and fight.
    â€œCitizen, you are most welcome,” said Enjolras. “But we are about to die.”
    I said nothing. I had faced death many times in my life.
    Suddenly there was the sound of trumpets. The barricade was under attack!
    â€œOn guard!” cried Marius from the top of the barricade.
    Another man on the barricade shouted, “When there are no more kings, there will be no more war!”
    â€œHeads down and get back to the wall,” shouted Enjolras. “All of you down on your knees.”
    The soldiers were firing at the barricade. The whole barricade was being hit with bullets. We were cloaked in a cloud of smoke.
    I was certain Marius would be the first one shot. He was standing in the line of fire.He didn’t seem interested in protecting himself.
    A soldier was posted on the roof nearby. He could see straight into our stronghold.
    I took aim with my musket and fired. I struck the soldier’s helmet. It clattered into the street, and the soldier ran off.
    â€œWhy did you fire at the helmet and not at the man?” asked Enjolras.
    I said nothing. Killing wasn’t as easy for me as it seemed to be for these young men.
    A spy was tied up in the inn. Enjolras told me to go and check up on him. I entered the inn, and the spy turned to me. I knew the man.
    â€œSo here we are,” he said.
    It was Javert.
    He asked for a drink. I held a glass to his lips. Then Enjolras came in and put a gun on the table.
    â€œI haven’t forgotten you,” he said to Javert.
    He turned to me. “The last man to leave this place will blow out this spy’s brains.”
    â€œMay I be that man?” I asked.
    â€œAll right,” replied Enjolras. “You can have the spy.”
    I picked up the gun. Javert’s eyes were upon me. I released him from the post, and we left the inn. His hands were tied behind his back so I helped him over the barricade. We walked down an alley.
    â€œTake your revenge,” said Javert when we stopped walking.
    I took a knife out of my pocket.
    â€œA knife to the heart!” exclaimed Javert. “You’re right. That’s your style.”
    I cut the ropes on Javert’s wrists.
    â€œYou’re free to go,” I told him.
    Javert was too stunned to speak. He stared at me openmouthed.
    â€œI probably won’t leave here alive,” Isaid. “But if I do, you can find me at number 7, rue de l’Homme-Armé. I live there under the name of Fauchelevent. Now go!”
    After a few steps, Javert turned. “I would rather you killed me,” he said.
    â€œClear out!” I cried.
    When he was gone, I fired the gun into the air.
    I went back to the barricade and reported, “The spy is dead.”
    But Marius wasn’t at his post. He was lying on the pavement. A bullet was in his shoulder. He looked dead. But he was still breathing.
    The king’s soldiers would soon be on the barricade. I had to get Marius to safety!

In the Paris Sewer
    The inn doors were bolted. The men were inside. They would finish the fight from there.
    The soldiers were climbing the barricade. I lifted Marius on my back. There was so little time.
    But how could we get away? The streets