'The short man.'
'Then the American is still aboard?'
'What American, sir?'
'Captain, you must not trifle with me. The man who engaged you is still aboard?'
'Oh, no, sir; he has never been aboard.'
'Do you mean to tell me that the second man who came on your launch at the Pont de Neuilly is not the American who engaged you?'
'No, sir; the American was a smooth-faced man; this man wore a black beard.'
'Yes, a false beard.'
'I did not know that, sir. I understood from the American that I was to take but one passenger. One came aboard with a small box in his hand; the other with a small bag. Each declared himself to be the passenger in question. I did not know what to do, so I left Paris with both of them on board.'
'Then the tall man with the black beard is still with you?'