he meets a companion, Mattia, the boy from Garofoli, starving near a church on the streets of Paris. Garofoli is in prison for beating another boy to death. Mattia pleads with Rémi to take him into his troupe. Rémi is scared: with him, Mattia might die of hunger as much as alone. But Mattia convinces him that two will never die of hunger because one helps the other. Thus, "Rémi troupe" consists now of two twelve-year-old musicians and a dog. Mattia turns out to be a gifted violinist, he plays other instruments too, and he learned some tricks while working for some time in a circus. The boys do well in the spring at weddings and festivals, their talents are appreciated and Rémi takes up the plan to visit Mother Barberin and buy her a cow (as a replacement to the one she was forced to sell at the start of the story). Mining Since a cow costs a lot of money Rémi plans a route via Corbeil, Montargis, Gien, Bourges, St. Amand and MontluÇon where they make a lot of money on their way to visit Alexis, who now lives with his Uncle Gaspard (Father Acquin's brother) in the mining town Varses, and works in the mine with his uncle. When Alexis is wounded and unable to work for a while, Rémi volunteers to replace him. One of the miners is nicknamed magister; he is an old and wise man. He becomes a good friend and he explains the history of coal. One day the mine is flooded by the river Divonne, which flows overhead. Seven miners, including Uncle Gaspard, the magister and Rémi, find shelter, but are trapped. They are waiting to be rescued, but have no idea of the amount of time passing in hunger and fear. One of the men confesses a crime, blames himself for the disaster and commits suicide. They end up spending a fortnight underground - and at last are saved. Capi is mad with happiness; Mattia is in tears. He says he never believed that Rémi could be dead, and Rémi is proud of his friend's strong belief in him. This incident shows the terrible state of child labour in 19th Century France. Rémi wants Mattia to learn music and they visit a barber/musician. Mr. Espinassous is amazed by Mattia's great talent and tries to convince him to stay and learn, but