Fauchelevent, who had recovered himself a little, exclaimed:⁠—

“But how will you manage to breathe?”

“I will breathe.”

“In that box! The mere thought of it suffocates me.”

“You surely must have a gimlet, you will make a few holes here and there, around my mouth, and you will nail the top plank on loosely.”

“Good! And what if you should happen to cough or to sneeze?”

“A man who is making his escape does not cough or sneeze.”

And Jean Valjean added:⁠—

“Father Fauchelevent, we must come to a decision: I must either be caught here, or accept this escape through the hearse.”