4. Marius

FOREWORD

Nine years pass. Valjean and Cosette are living in the Rue Plumet in Paris, in a house with a big garden. It is a quiet street and nobody comes there. This pleases Valjean, because he is still afraid of Inspector Javert.

Cosette is now a young woman. She is tall, with golden-brown hair. She is beautiful, but there are many beautiful faces in the world. The wonderful thing about Cosette's face is her smile – a slow, warm, gentle smile, like sunlight after rain.

And now we must meet Marius, and his young friend Gavroche. Marius is a student, a young man with many ideas but no money. Paris is full of young men like this. Marius has a grandfather (his father is dead), but he does not talk to him. Their political ideas are very different. At seventeen, he leaves home with 30 francs, his watch, and a small bag of clothes. Now, five years older, he lives with other students, and they talk all night about books and ideas, politics and government, life and death. All students are like this. They live for ideas, and do a little work here and there. When they need to.

Gavroche is a child of the Paris streets. He is eleven or twelve years old, and wears a man's trousers and a woman's shirt (a kind woman gave these clothes to him). He lives on the streets, knows everybody, goes everywhere, and enjoys life. Well, why not? He knows no other life, only this one.

Marius loved walking through the streets and gardens of Paris, and he often walked in the Luxembourg garden. One day in the garden he saw a man with a young girl. The man was about sixty, and the girl, Marius thought, was about seventeen. He did not see her eyes, but he saw her golden-brown hair and her slow gentle smile.

He walked past them once, and did not look back. But he came to the Luxembourg the next day, and the day after that, and for the next five days. The man and the girl were always there. He could not stop looking at the girl. He wanted very much to see that smile again.

On the seventh day the girl turned her head and looked at Marius. She looked into his eyes across the garden, and that look went, like a bullet from a gun, into Marius's heart. There were no words, but at once Marius knew and the girl knew. This was love.

Life stopped for Marius then. He spent hours in the Luxembourg, and every time he saw her, the sun came out and all the birds in the garden began singing.

But the man began to look at Marius too, and his face was not friendly. Marius was afraid, and he went to Gavroche.

Gavroche, please, you must help me.'

Why? What's the matter, Monsieur Marius?'

There's a girl, Gavroche. She walks in the Luxembourg every day. I want you to follow her home and tell me the address.'

Why don't you follow her? I'm busy,' said Gavroche.

I'm afraid to,' said Marius. 'Her father, grandfather, I don't know, is watching me. He doesn't like me.'

Why is this important, Monsieur Marius?' Gavroche said. He had a big smile on his face.

Why is this important, Monsieur Marius?' asked Gavroche.

Because I'm IN LOVE,' shouted Marius. 'Please, Gavroche, do it!'

Gavroche ran away, laughing. Two days later he came to Marius's rooms.

Rue Plumet,' he said. 'House at the end of the street. Hard to find. You need to look for it.'

Spring came, and Cosette began to go out into the garden at Rue Plumet. She was usually alone. Her old servant, Toussaint, was always in the kitchen, and Father (Jean Valjean) was in his room, reading.

Cosette was sad. She remembered the young man in the Luxembourg garden, but Father no longer wanted to go there. But that evening in the Rue Plumet garden, something very wonderful happened.

She heard a voice, a man's voice. She looked round, and it was him.

I'm so sorry,' he said. 'Please don't be afraid. I just wanted to... You remember the Luxembourg garden? I saw you there for the first time... I can't forget you, day and night I think about you... Please don't be afraid... You see, I love you... It just happened to me... I can't stop it... Don't be afraid... please.'

Cosette listened to this wonderful river of words, and then held out her hand to him. He took her hand, and she pulled it to her, and put it against her heart.

Then – you love me?' he said.

Of course! You know that.'

A kiss. No words. They did not need words. Later, words came. The story of his life, the story of her life, everything. Between lovers, everything is interesting.

When they were done with words, Cosette put her head on Marius's shoulder and asked:

What is your name?'

My name is Marius. And yours?'

Cosette.'

Every evening they met secretly in the garden at Rue Plumet. A kiss, a gentle laugh, whispered words of love – it was the spring and summer of their young lives.

It was the spring and summer of their young lives.

But around them, outside their garden, there was change. There were angry people; there were police and soldiers on the streets of Paris. And one day Jean Valjean said to Cosette, 'My dearest child, we live in dangerous times. We must leave France and go to England.'

Cosette looked at him with frightened eyes. 'Must we go, Father?' she said.

Valjean watched her face. 'We must,' he said. 'Get ready to leave very soon.'

There was a change in Cosette. Valjean remembered the young man in the Luxembourg garden, and he looked at Cosette's beautiful young face. He was afraid – afraid of losing his dear daughter.

That evening in the Rue Plumet garden, there were many unhappy tears.

But you must follow us to England,' cried Cosette.

How can I do that?' cried Marius. 'I have no money, no passport even! England to me is like the moon!'

They held hands in the moonlight.

Listen. I have an idea,' Marius said slowly. 'Wait two days. Perhaps...'

Two days?' cried Cosette. 'How can I live two days without you?'

please v. to make someone happy or satisfied 使高兴；使满意

idea n. someone's opinion or belief 想法，信念

political adj. relating to the government and politics of a country 政治的

government n. the group of people who govern a country 政府

across prep. from one side of something to the other 在……的另一边

bullet n. a small piece of metal fired from a gun 子弹

address n. the details of the place where someone lives 住址

kiss n. an act of touching someone lovingly with your mouth 亲吻

unhappy adj. not happy 不快乐的

passport n. a small official document needed to leave your country and enter other countries 护照

4. 马吕斯

引言

九年过去了。冉阿让和珂赛特如今住在巴黎卜吕梅街一所带大花园的房子里。这是条僻静的街道，没有人到这儿来。这一点让冉阿让很满意，因为他仍然怕被沙威督察发现。

珂赛特现在已经是个大姑娘了。她个子高挑，一头金褐色的头发。她容貌美丽，不过这个世界上的漂亮脸蛋儿多得是，而珂赛特的脸庞吸引人的地方在于她的笑容——慢慢绽放、带着暖意的温柔笑容，就像雨后的阳光。

现在我们必须来介绍一下马吕斯和他年轻的朋友伽弗洛什。马吕斯是个学生，他是个很有想法的年轻人，可是却没有钱。巴黎到处都是这样的年轻人。马吕斯的祖父还在（他的父亲已经过世了），但他们不说话——他们的政治观点天差地别。17岁那年，他带着30法郎、自己的表和一小包衣服离开了家。现在，五年过去了，他和其他学生住在一起，他们彻夜畅谈书籍和信念、政治和政府、生和死。所有的学生都是这样。他们为信念而生，只在需要的时候，东家西家地打点零工。

伽弗洛什是个在巴黎街头流浪的孩子。他十一二岁，穿着一条男式长裤和一件女式衬衣（这些衣服是一位好心的妇人送给他的）。街头就是他的家，每一个人他都认识，每个地方他都去过，每天他都过得快快活活。是啊，为什么不呢？他没有过过其他的生活，他所知道的生活就是这样。

马吕斯喜欢穿行于巴黎的街道和公园，他常常在卢森堡公园散步。有一天，在卢森堡公园里，他见到一个男人和一个年轻女孩。那个男人60岁上下，而那个女孩，马吕斯心想，大概17岁吧。他没有看到她的眼睛，但他看到了她金褐色的头发和慢慢绽放的温柔笑容。

有一次，他从他们身边走过，不过他没有回头。可是第二天，他又来到了卢森堡公园，再下一天也来了，接下来的五天都来了。那个男人和女孩总是在公园里。他无法把目光从女孩的身上挪开。他非常想再见到那个笑容。

到了第七天，女孩转过头看着马吕斯。她的目光从公园的另一端投来，就像从枪口射出的一颗子弹，射进了马吕斯的心房。他们彼此无言，但马吕斯和女孩同时意识到，这就是爱。

马吕斯的生活自此定格。他长时间地呆在卢森堡公园内，每一次见到她，太阳便破云而出，公园里的鸟儿也开始歌唱。

但是那个男人也开始注意到马吕斯，他脸上的表情并不友好。马吕斯有些怕他，于是他去找伽弗洛什。

“伽弗洛什，求求你，你一定要帮帮我。”

“为了什么呀？怎么回事，马吕斯先生？”

“我遇到了个女孩，伽弗洛什。她每天都在卢森堡公园散步。我想让你跟着她回家，再把她的地址告诉我。”

“你为什么不去跟呢？我忙着呢。”伽弗洛什说。

“我害怕。”马吕斯说，“她的父亲——还是祖父，我也说不准——在盯着我。他不喜欢我。”

“这有什么大不了的，马吕斯先生？”伽弗洛什说。他的脸上绽开了灿烂的笑容。

“因为我恋爱了。”马吕斯大声说道，“拜托，伽弗洛什，你就帮我这个忙吧！”

伽弗洛什笑着跑开了。两天后，他来到马吕斯的住处。

“在卜吕梅街。”他说，“街道尽头的房子。很难找。你得仔细找才行。”

春天来了，珂赛特开始到卜吕梅街的花园里去。她通常都是一个人去。她的老仆人杜桑总是在厨房里忙活，爸爸（冉阿让）则在自己的房间里看书。

珂赛特闷闷不乐。她回想起卢森堡公园里的那个小伙子，可是爸爸不愿再到那里去了。但是，就在那天傍晚，在卜吕梅街的花园里，一件非常美妙的事情发生了。

她听到了一个声音，一个男人的声音。她四下张望，原来是他。

“真是非常抱歉。”他说，“请不要害怕。我只是想……你还记得卢森堡公园吗？我是在那里第一次见到你的……我忘不了你，日日夜夜都在想着你……千万别害怕……我想说，我爱你……爱情就这么发生在我身上了……我控制不住……别害怕……求求你。”

珂赛特耳听着他倾诉不绝的动人话语，然后向他伸出了自己的手。他抓住她的手，她又把他的手拉向自己，放在胸口上。

“那么说——你爱我？”他说。

“当然！你知道的。”

一个亲吻。没有话语。他们不需要话语。亲吻过后，他们才聊起来。他从小到大的生活，她从小到大的生活，无话不谈。对热恋中的情人来说，什么话题都有趣。

等到他们终于把要说的话都说完了，珂赛特把头靠在马吕斯的肩头，问道：

“你叫什么名字？”

“我叫马吕斯。你呢？”

“珂赛特。”

每天傍晚，他们都在卜吕梅街的花园里秘密会面。一个亲吻，一声轻笑，呢喃的情话——这是两个年轻人生命中的春天和夏天。

可是，在他们周围，在他们的花园围墙之外，世界正在发生变化。民怨汹汹；军警进驻巴黎街头。一天，冉阿让对珂赛特说：“我最亲爱的孩子，我们生活在充满危险的时代。我们必须离开法国，到英格兰去。”

珂赛特看着他，眼睛里满是惊恐。“我们一定要走吗，爸爸？”她问。

冉阿让望着她的脸。“一定要走。”他说，“先收拾好东西，我们很快就出发。”

珂赛特变了。冉阿让记起了卢森堡公园里的那个小伙子，他看着珂赛特年轻美丽的面孔。他害怕——害怕失去自己亲爱的女儿。

那天傍晚，在卜吕梅街的花园里，洒下了许多悲伤的眼泪。

“可你一定要跟我们到英格兰去。”珂赛特哭着说。

“我怎么去得了呢？”马吕斯呜咽道，“我没有钱，连护照都没有！对我来说，去英格兰就像登天一样难！”

他们在月光下手拉着手。

“听着，我有个主意。”马吕斯慢慢说道，“等两天。也许……”

“两天？”珂赛特哭了出来，“没有了你，我怎么挨过两天呢？”