The Unnamed Captain Timeline and Summary

The narrator opens the story by talking about how he has recently become captain of a ship. He's insecure about his inexperience, though, and feels as if the crew doesn't really like him.
One night, the captain peers over the side of his ship and finds a naked dude named Leggatt swimming alongside, nearly dead from exhaustion. Even though Leggatt is a fugitive who's wanted for murder, the captain pulls him on board and hides him in his (the captain's) private room.
People come looking for Leggatt, but the captain is able to throw them off the scent and get rid of them. After this close call, though, Leggatt decides to jump ship and swim for some of the nearby islands.
In the story's closing scene, the captain commands his crew to take his ship as close as possible to some nearby islands. They all think he's crazy, but they still do it. At the last second, the captain pulls them away from danger and looks over the side of the boat to see his hat (which he gave to Leggatt) floating in the ocean.