Just after sundown the hearse is taking the coffin to the old cemetery used by the convent and Fauchelevent is in a state of high delight. What seemed impossible yesterday seems like a sure thing now. Everything has gone according to plan, and they are nearing the final stage: get the grave digger drunk and then remove Valjean from the coffin and bury it empty.
At the gates of the cemetery the plan is turned on its head. They are joined by a new workman who announces he is the new grave digger. It seems the old grave digger is dead. In a panic, Fauchelevent attempts to convince this grave digger to join him for a drink, but he is striking out completely. This is a man actively getting his education in philosophy, a man with a large family, a man who is insisting he will not drink and just wants to bury this coffin and go home.
We reach the edge of the grave with no clear since of what will happen next and the chapter ends.