Joseph Conrad

The Secret Sharer Joseph Conrad

"The Secret Sharer" begins with the anonymous narrator, the newly appointed captain of an unnamed ship, anchored in the Gulf of Siam (what is now called the Gulf of Thailand). While the Captain is standing on the deck, alone, he is immersed in the sunset and the silence of the sea. He feels like a stranger to his new command, the ship, and its crew.

During dinner that night, the Captain comments that he saw the masts of a ship that must be anchored within a nearby group of islands. The second officer tells him that the ship is the Sephora from Liverpool, carrying a cargo of coal. As a gesture of goodwill towards the crew, who have been working hard for the past two days, the Captain announces that he will take anchor until 1:00 a.m., something that a ship's captain generally does not do.

During the anchor watch, while the sailors sleep, the Captain begins to pull the rope side ladder, which was lowered for a tug to come aboard and deliver the crew's mail. When he starts to pull it, he feels a tug on the ropes and, in surprise, leans over the deck to investigate. He sees a naked man in the water, holding the bottom of the ladder. The man introduces himself as Leggatt and the captain brings him some clothes (one of his nightgowns). Leggatt explains that he was the Sephora's first mate and that he accidentally killed an insolent crewmate seven weeks ago. The Captain takes him to his cabin and he learns that Leggatt was arrested in his cabin until he escaped and swam to the rope ladder where the Captain discovered him. He sank his clothes so that the Sephora crew thought he had committed suicide by drowning.

The Captain feels an inexplicable affinity with Leggatt, often referring to him as "my double" or "second me". The Captain tells Leggatt that he has only been in charge for two weeks and feels as strange on the ship as Leggatt himself. He agrees to hide Leggatt in his cabin.

The captain of the Sephora soon arrives in search of the fugitive killer. He searches the ship, but Leggatt remains hidden, thanks to the Captain's maneuvers. The captain of the Sephora claims that he will have to report Leggatt as a suicide when his ship gets home. The Captain and Leggatt share their relief that they have not been captured.

As the Captain's ship begins its journey home, the Captain grows more nervous about the possibility of the crew discovering Leggatt on board. On the fourth day, the butler almost ran into Leggatt as he delivered the captain's coat to his cabin. Leggatt tells the Captain that he must leave him stranded between some islands, because he knows that he cannot return to England and face prison or hanging. The Captain reluctantly agrees.

As the ship approaches Koh-ring, an island, the Captain orders the crew to steer the ship close to shore. They protest that such a move is not safe, but the Captain is determined to give Leggatt a chance to swim to safety. After sneaking into his cabin and shaking Leggatt's hand, the captain continues to bring the ship closer to shore, despite all the protests from his terrified crew. Leggatt jumps off the deck and swims to safety, the Captain successfully maneuvering the ship out of harm's way and wishes Leggatt luck in finding his "new destination".