"The young narrator recently became the captain of a ship who’s crew had been together for at least 18 months. He feels insecure about his position and is alienated by the rest of the crew because of his youth and inexperience. One night, after ordering the rest of the crew to go to sleep, he wanders the deck and notices a man, nearly dead, floating besides his ship holding onto the rope ladder. The narrator allows the man on board and takes the stranger to his room where he finds out that they are very much alike in many ways. The stranger’s name is Leggatt and he was the first mate of the Sephora, a ship floating nearby, until he killed a crewman. He was stripped of his position and held captive on the boat. One night, he was able to escape and swim to the narrator’s boat. Because of Leggatt’s precarious position, the narrator keeps silent about him and keeps Leggat in his room. Later, the older, more experienced captain of the Sephora comes aboard the narrator’s ship in search of Leggatt, but leaves after not finding him. Later, the narrator orders his ship near an island in order to allow Leggatt to swim away to that island. The crew is miffed but they sail safely away after the narrator finds the hat which he gave Leggatt in the water serving as a marker of boats direction.
"(http://www.awerty.com/summaries.html)
|