Newly given his first command, a young captain anchored at the head of the Gulf of Siam finds a naked swimmer clinging to his ladder at night. The man, Leggatt, has killed a sailor aboard another ship, and the captain, seeing in him a second self, hides him in his cabin while the crew grow suspicious.
One of Conrad’s most perfectly shaped short works, a study of doubling, loyalty and the loneliness of command. Download the free EPUB.