No-one seems to read Joseph Conrad anymore, so when I saw one of his books on the shelves at Vinnies, I rescued it despite owning a copy of it already. It was a slim, still pristine, Bantam Classic volume, containing both "Heart of Darkness" and the short story "The Secret Sharer".
Little more than sixty pages long, "The Secret Sharer", written from the first-person point-of-view, is about an unnamed captain who is recently commissioned to command his first ship. 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 recognises 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. Favourable 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.
The story, widely acclaimed as a psychological masterpiece, had at least two film adaptation, and, more recently, was turned into a romantic thriller which strays from the original plot in that its 'secret sharer' is a young Chinese woman named Li. It was critisised for this altered storyline, but won praise for the cinematography. It's in Mandarin (with English subtitles for the rest of us), so you can enjoy it as well, Tong!
Finally, here is the audiobook, read by the incomparable Orson Welles, to be listened to on a sultry summer's day with my eyes shut, while reclining on the old sofa on the verandah. Something for everyone!
