The next morning, Gunpowder was at Hans Van Ripper’s gate. The horse was eating grass. Ichabod Crane did not come to breakfast. He did not come to dinner. The students waited at the school, but the teacher was not there. Hans Van Ripper began to worry. People began to look for Ichabod Crane. They found the saddle in the dirt. They saw horse tracks on the road. Near the bridge, they found Ichabod Crane's hat. Next to the hat, there was a broken pumpkin.
They looked in the water, but they did not find Ichabod Crane’s body. Hans Van Ripper looked at the teacher’s things. Ichabod Crane 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 Crane 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 Crane. But many years later, an old farmer went to New York. He brought back news that Ichabod Crane was still alive. He said Ichabod Crane left because he was afraid of the ghost. He was also sad because Katrina Van Tassel did not want to marry him. In a distant part of the country, Ichabod Crane studied law and became a politician. Finally, he became a judge.
Brom Bones married Katrina Van Tassel soon after the teacher disappeared. Whenever people told the story of Ichabod Crane, 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 wives of Sleepy Hollow did not agree. They still say a ghost took Ichabod Crane. 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.