As he went, he was conscious of low, cackling laughter, but when he turned to look, the two Chinamen stood where he had left them, blinking and immobile.
The uncanny feeling possessing him increased; the thing was unnatural.
He lurched on, however, looking for Li Choo.

The Chinaman was not to be found in the kitchen, in the woodshed, in the cellar, in the loft, or in his own attic room; and the half-breed, Rada, declared she had not seen him.

He could not be at the stables, for they were too far away to be reached in the time; and there were no signs of him between the house and the stables.

When Mazarine returned to the front of the house, the two Chinamen also had vanished; there were no signs of them anywhere.
Search did not discover them.
Mingled anger and fear now possessed Mazarine.

He would search no longer.