The next morning, Gunpowder was at Hans Van Ripper’s gate. The horse was eating grass. Ichabod did not come to breakfast. The students waited at the school, but the teacher was not there. He did not come to lunch either. Hans Van Ripper began to worry. People began to look for Ichabod. They found the saddle in the dirt. They saw horse tracks on the road. Near the bridge, they found Ichabod's hat. Next to the hat, there was a broken pumpkin.
They looked in the water, but they did not find Ichabod’s body. Hans Van Ripper looked at the teacher’s things. Ichabod had only two shirts, some socks, and a razor. He also had a book of church songs and a book about witches. Hans Van Ripper burned the books. He decided his children should not go to school anymore. He thought reading and writing were bad for people. Ichabod had no wife and owed no money to anyone. So, the people soon stopped looking for him.
The people at the church talked about the event on Sunday. They believed the Headless Horseman took Ichabod. But many years later, an old farmer went to New York. He brought back news that Ichabod was still alive. He said Ichabod left because he was afraid of the ghost. He was also sad because Katrina did not want to marry him. In a distant part of the country, Ichabod studied law and became a politician. Finally, he became a judge.
Brom Bones married Katrina soon after the teacher disappeared. Whenever people told the story of Ichabod, Brom Bones looked as if he knew a secret. He always laughed when people mentioned the broken pumpkin. Some people thought Brom Bones knew the truth. But the old women of Sleepy Hollow did not agree. They still say a ghost took Ichabod. They say his ghost still haunts the old schoolhouse. On quiet evenings, people think they hear his voice singing in the valley of Sleepy Hollow.