The Headless Horseman: A Strange Tale of Texas by Thomas Mayne Reid. Short summary

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A headless horseman moves across the prairie at night, terrifying everyone. The locals think it’s a ghost. But it turns out to be just poor Henry’s body, tied to a horse.

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The novel is set in the middle of the nineteenth century. A broke planter, Poindexter, and his daughter Louise and son Henry move from Louisiana to Texas.

Along the way, they meet Maurice the Mustangster, a wild horse hunter. Louise immediately falls in love with Maurice, which her cousin Cassius Calhoun does not like. After her father’s ban, the young people continue to meet in secret.

One day Henry quarrels with Maurice, but then decides to apologize to him and goes after the mustachian in pursuit. The next morning, Henry is missing. His murder is blamed on Maurice, who claims to be innocent.

At the same time, a creepy headless horseman appeared on the prairie, rushing around and scaring people. On the day of Maurice’s execution, this rider appeared in the square. It turned out to be Henry’s decapitated body, tied to a horse. Maurice found Henry dead and wanted to bring him home this way.

In Henry’s body was found a bullet fired from Cousin Cassius’s shotgun. Calhoun had to confess to everything.