In the confession of which Duckworthy afterward delivered himself
he declared that Captain Keitt, after his great adventure, having
sailed from Africa in safety, and so reached the shores of the
New World, had wrecked The Good Fortune on a coral reef off the
Windward Islands; that he then immediately deserted the ship, and
together with Duckworthy himself, the sailing-master (who was a
Portuguese), the captain of a brig The Bloody Hand (a consort of
Keitt's), and a villainous rascal named Hunt (who, occupying no
precise position among the pirates, was at once the instigator of
and the partaker in the greatest part of Captain Keitt's
wickednesses), made his way to the nearest port of safety. These
five worthies at last fetched the island of Jamaica, bringing
with them all of the jewels and some of the gold that had been
captured from The Sun of the East.
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.
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