 The men that were with you on the expedition were your responsibility, and they were killed, so that's on you. You need to be punished, and the punishment is death. So the very next morning, they walk John up to be hanged at the gallows. As they're about to put the noose around his neck, someone yells, Ship on the horizon, and it's Captain Newport. He had returned again, and to save John Smith's life yet again.