But, upon coming to a division of their booty, it was presently
discovered that the Rajah's ruby had mysteriously disappeared
from the collection of jewels to be divided. The other pirates
immediately suspected their captain of having secretly purloined
it, and, indeed, so certain were they of his turpitude that they
immediately set about taking means to force a confession from
him.

In this, however, they were so far unsuccessful that the captain,
refusing to yield to their importunities, had suffered himself to
die under their hands, and had so carried the secret of the
hiding-place of the great ruby--if he possessed such a
secret--along with him.

Duckworthy concluded his confession by declaring that in his
opinion he himself, the Portuguese sailing-master, the captain of
The Bloody Hand, and Hunt were the only ones of Captain Keitt's
crew who were now alive; for that The Good Fortune must have
broken up in a storm, which immediately followed their desertion
of her; in which event the entire crew must inevitably have
perished.

It may be added that Duckworthy himself was shortly hanged, so
that, if his surmise was true, there was now only three left
alive of all that wicked crew that had successfully carried to
its completion the greatest adventure which any pirate in the
world had ever, perhaps, embarked upon.