The story is written from the first-person point-of-view, in which the unnamed captain is the narrator. Recently commissioned to command his first ship, he is unfamiliar with both the vessel and its crew. The youthful captain, to the surprise of his officers, takes the evening watch. That night, with the crew below deck, he discovers a naked half-submerged figure clinging to a rope ladder: it is the first mate named Leggatt from the Sephora, the only other ship anchored in the bay. He explains he is a fugitive from the ship, having been arrested by the ship’s captain for killing a crew member during a violent storm.
After hearing his story, the captain—rather than summoning an officer to seize the man—fetches clothing for him and conceals him in his quarters. The captain recognizes in Leggatt a youthful “double” of himself: The two men are similar in appearance, personal history and maritime experience and aspirations. They differ in that Leggatt has had the bad fortune to have been embroiled in a conflict with a troublesome deck hand, ending in a violent confrontation during a typhoon, in which the vessel is almost lost. Leggatt’s efforts save the ship and the crew, but the captain of the Sephora puts him in shackles allegedly for murder.
The youthful captain comprehends the gravity of Leggatt’s situation, and is determined to protect him. The steps necessary to keep the crew ignorant of the stowaway involve a number of evasive antics and near discoveries. When the Sephora’s elderly captain arrives to make inquiries as to the whereabouts of his first mate, the young captain adroitly deflects his suspicions. To his chagrin, the Sephora’s captain departs empty-handed. The local authorities are notified of Leggatt’s escape and he risks arrest if he swims directly to shore.
Favorable winds develop and the captain orders the ship to set sail. In an effort to facilitate Leggatt's escape, he takes the boat near a point on the mainland where Leggatt might swim to shore and evade detection. The maneuver is extremely risky, and the crew and officers, ignorant of the captain’s motives, are dismayed.
Certain that Leggatt has made his escape, the captain resumes course.[5]
