mountebank

The two children, picked up by some policeman and placed in the refuge, or stolen by some mountebank, or having simply strayed off in that immense Chinese puzzle of a Paris, did not return.

那两个孩子，也许是被什么警察收留关进拘留所了，或是被什么江湖艺人拐走了，或者压根儿就是迷失在这个无边无际的巴黎迷宫里了，他们没有回来。