The party ended late at night. The farmers put their families in wagons and drove away. The young women rode on horses behind the young men. Soon, the house was quiet.
Ichabod stayed behind to talk to Katrina. He wanted to ask her to marry him. He was sure he would be successful.
We do not know what they said to each other. But Ichabod looked very sad when he left. He did not look like a happy lover. He looked like someone who had failed.
Maybe Katrina was only being nice to him to make Brom Bones jealous. Ichabod went straight to the stable. He kicked Gunpowder to wake him up.
It was the middle of the night. Ichabod felt very sad and afraid as he rode home. The hills looked very high and dark. He could see the Hudson River far below him.
Everything was very quiet. He heard a dog barking far away. He heard a bird and a frog in the marsh. These sounds made him feel very lonely.
He remembered all the ghost stories from the party. The night became darker. Clouds moved across the sky and hid the stars. He felt very miserable.
He was near the place where many of the ghost stories took place. In the middle of the road, there was a giant tulip-tree.
The tree was very big and had twisted branches. People called it Major André’s tree. A soldier named Major André was captured near this tree during the war. People were afraid of the tree and told many stories about it.
Ichabod approached the scary tulip-tree. He began to whistle because he was afraid. He thought he heard an answer to his whistle. But it was only the wind in the dry branches. He saw something white in the tree and stopped whistling. He looked closely and saw it was only a white spot on the wood. Then he heard a loud groan. His teeth chattered and his knees shook against the saddle. It was only two branches rubbing together in the wind. He passed the tree, but there was more danger ahead.
A small brook crossed the road near a dark swamp. A bridge made of logs went over the water. This was the exact spot where Major André was captured. People said the stream was haunted. Every schoolboy was afraid to pass it at night. Ichabod’s heart began to beat very fast. He kicked Gunpowder to go across the bridge quickly. But the horse did not go forward. Gunpowder ran sideways against a fence.
Ichabod pulled the reins. He kicked the horse again. Gunpowder jumped into a thicket of bushes. Ichabod used his whip and his heels on the horse. The horse finally moved forward but stopped suddenly at the bridge. Ichabod almost fell over the horse’s head. He heard a loud sound in the water. In the dark shadows, he saw something huge and black. It looked like a giant monster ready to jump.
Ichabod was terrified. He could not run away now. He asked in a shaking voice, "Who are you?" There was no answer. He asked again. Still, there was no answer. Ichabod closed his eyes and began to sing a church song. Suddenly, the black shape moved into the middle of the road. It was a very large man on a big black horse. The stranger did not speak. He just rode beside Ichabod and old Gunpowder.
Ichabod did not like this companion. He remembered the story about Brom Bones and the ghost. He tried to ride fast to leave the stranger behind. But the stranger rode fast too. Ichabod slowed down. The stranger slowed down too. Ichabod’s heart sank. He tried to sing, but he was too afraid to speak. They went up a hill. Ichabod saw the man’s shape against the sky. He was shocked. The man had no head on his shoulders! He carried his head on the front of his saddle!
Ichabod began to kick and hit Gunpowder. He wanted to escape the ghost. The ghost’s horse jumped forward too. They raced through the dark woods. Stones flew and sparks flashed from the horses’ hooves. Ichabod’s clothes flew in the wind as he leaned over his horse. They reached the road to Sleepy Hollow. But Gunpowder turned the wrong way. The horse ran down a hill toward the old church bridge.
Ichabod was a bad rider. Suddenly, the girth broke. The saddle began to slip. Ichabod tried to hold it, but it fell to the ground. He heard the ghost’s horse step on the saddle. He was afraid Hans Van Ripper would be angry. But he was more afraid of the ghost. He held Gunpowder’s neck tightly. He bounced up and down on the horse’s back. It was very painful.
He saw the church bridge through the trees. He saw a star shining in the water. "If I reach that bridge, I will be safe," Ichabod thought. He heard the black horse breathing behind him. He felt its hot breath. Ichabod kicked Gunpowder one more time. The horse ran onto the bridge. Ichabod looked back. He wanted to see if the ghost would disappear in a flash of fire. But he saw the ghost throw its head at him! The head hit Ichabod’s head with a loud crash. He fell into the dust. The ghost rode past him on the black horse like a strong wind.