In this chapter we still maintain a distance from Madeleine himself, with no direct insight into what he may be thinking or feeling. Instead we see him as he goes to rent a horse - specifically one who is fast and can handle back to back days of long travel. With a bit of quick math Scaufflaire, the man renting the horse to Madeleine is able to determine that Madeleine plans to go to Arras. This means nothing in particular to Scaufflaire, but for the reader we know that Arras is the place where Javert has told us that Jean Valjean is imprisoned.
We can assume that Madeleine is planning to leave as soon as possible for Arras to figure out who this man is and what is happening, since we have had countless clues that Madeleine is in fact Valjean. What we don’t know at this point is what Madeleine will do when he gets there. Will the truth be revealed? Will he come up with a clever way to set this man free? It’s unclear.
The other thing that happens in this chapter is that we see Madeleine throughout the night through the eyes of the factory custodian, a man whose chambers are directly beneath Madeleine’s own. The custodian hears Madeleine pacing throughout the night and can see light from his room reflected on the outside wall. Initially fire light, then later the light of a lantern. In either case this man discerns that Madeleine is awake, with his window open despite the cold, and is pacing relentlessly.
Again we are left to wonder what exactly is occupying Madeleine. We assume that it revolves around Arras and the man prisoned there falsely as Jean Valjean. What we don’t know are the specifics. Is he planning something? Is he scared for his own life and future? Is he feeling bad for this man? Is he feeling guilty? All we can do is read ahead and find out! (in my case I’ll be forcing myself to wait until tomorrow!)