Let's get acquainted with the work "The Headless Horseman". A summary of this novel is described in this article. It appeared in 1865. Its plot is based on the adventures in America of the author himself, who is Mine Reed. “The Headless Horseman,” a summary of which interests us, begins as follows.
The action of the work takes place in the 50s of the 19th century. Vans are driving across the Texas prairie - Woodley Poindexter, a bankrupt planter, is moving to Texas from Louisiana. Henry, his son, daughter Louise and Cassius Colhoun, his nephew, a retired captain, are also traveling with him. Suddenly the travelers lose track. The scorched prairie appears before them.
Meet Maurice Gerald
A young horseman dressed in Mexican costume shows the way to the caravan. He continues moving, but soon the horseman appears again, this time to save displaced people from the hurricane. This man says his name is Maurice Gerald. He is also called Maurice the Mustanger because he hunts wild horses. Louise falls in love with him at first sight.
Dinner party
Some time later, a housewarming dinner is to be held at Casa del Corvo, where the Poindexters now live. Maurice the Mustang appears in the midst of the celebration along with a herd of horses, which he captured at Poindexter's request. The rare speckled mustang stands out among them. Poindexter offers a large sum for him, but the mustanger refuses the money and presents the horse as a gift to Louise.
Events that happened at the picnic (their summary)
“The Headless Horseman”, outlined by us chapter by chapter, continues with a picnic. Let's talk about what events happened in this part of the novel. The commandant of Fort Inge, located near Casa del Corvo, arranges a return reception after some time. A picnic is being held on the prairie, and mustang hunting is also planned during the picnic. Maurice acts as a guide. As soon as the participants of this picnic settle down at a rest stop, a whole herd of wild mares appears. Having galloped after them, the speckled mare carries Louise out to the prairie. Maurice is afraid that, having caught up with his herd, the speckled one will try to get rid of the rider. He goes in pursuit. Soon Maurice catches up with the girl, but a new danger awaits them - a herd of wild horses is galloping at them. Stallions are extremely aggressive at this time of year. Louise and Maurice have to flee, but they finally get rid of the pursuit only when the mustanger kills the leader with a well-aimed shot.
Louise and Maurice are left alone, and the mustanger invites the girl to his hut. Louise is pleasantly surprised to notice books here, as well as other little things that indicate the owner’s education, which Reed notes (“The Headless Horseman”). The summary of the work proceeds to a description of how Cassius Colhoun, burning with jealousy, sets off in the footsteps of Louise and Maurice, and finally meets them. They drive slowly next to each other, and jealousy flares up in him with renewed vigor.
Calhoun's quarrel with Gerald
The men are drinking in the evening of the same day in the bar of the Na Prival hotel (the only one in the village), which is run by Franz Oberdofer, a German. Colquhoun proposes a toast that is insulting to Maurice Gerald (the Irishman), and also pushes him. He responds by throwing a glass of whiskey in Colhoun's face. It is clear to everyone that this quarrel must end in a shootout. Indeed, right here, in this same bar, a duel is taking place. Both participants are wounded, but the mustanger still manages to put a gun to Colhoun’s head, who is forced to apologize. M. Reed ("The Headless Horseman") talks about all this in more detail. The summary describes only the main events.
Gifts from Isidora in Love
Colquhoun and Maurice are forced to remain in bed due to their wounds. If Cassius is surrounded by care, then Maurice languishes alone in a wretched hotel. However, soon baskets of provisions begin to arrive to him. These are gifts from Isidora de Los Llanos, who is in love with him, whom he once saved from the hands of drunken Indians. Louise becomes aware of this. Tormented by jealousy, the girl arranges a meeting with Maurice, during which they declare their love for each other.
Louise's communication with Maurice
Louise wants to go horseback riding again. However, the father forbids the girl to leave, explaining that the Comanches are now on the warpath. Louise from the work “The Headless Horseman” agrees surprisingly easily, a very brief summary of which is presented in this article. She begins to practice archery: the girl uses arrows to exchange letters with her lover. This is followed by secret meetings at night in the courtyard of the estate. Cassius Colhoun witnesses one of these meetings. He wants to use this circumstance as an excuse to deal with Maurice at the hands of Henry Poindexter. Indeed, there is a quarrel between them, but Louise persuades her brother to apologize to the mustanger, for which he should follow him and catch up with him.
Henry's disappearance
Presenting a summary of the story “The Headless Horseman,” we note that Colhoun is furious. He is trying to set Miguel Diaz on the mustanger. This man has his own scores to settle with the Irishman (because of Isidora), but he turns out to be dead drunk. Colquhoun then decides to go himself after Henry and Maurice.
The next day it turns out that Henry is missing. His horse suddenly appears at the gates of the estate, on which traces of dried blood are found. The young man is suspected to have been attacked by Comanches. The planters and officers of the fort set out to search.
Suddenly the hotel owner appears, who says that the mustanger paid the bill the night before and then moved out, then Henry Poindexter soon appeared at the hotel. Having learned in which direction the mustanger went, he followed it.
Search for Henry
Do you want to know what events continue in "The Headless Horseman"? A summary of further events is as follows. A search party is driving through a forest clearing. Suddenly, against the backdrop of the setting sun, a headless horseman appears before the eyes of those gathered.
People try to follow in his tracks, but they get lost in the prairie. It was decided to postpone the search until the morning. The commandant of the fort, a major, reports on the evidence found by the ranger Spangler. This evidence rules out Indian involvement. Immediately suspicion of murder falls on Maurice Gerald, and everyone decides to go early in the morning to his hut.
Hunter saves his friend
At this time, Maurice's friend Zebulon Stump (Zeb) comes to Casa del Corvo. Louise tells him rumors about the death of her brother, as well as the fact that Maurice Gerald was allegedly involved in it. The hunter goes at her request to the mustanger in order to save Maurice from lynching. When Zeb finds himself in his hut, Tara the dog comes running with Maurice's calling card tied to his collar. On the card is written in blood where you can find him. Zeb appears just in time. He saves his wounded friend from a jaguar. Louise, meanwhile, sees a horseman resembling Maurice from the roof of the estate. Having galloped after him, the girl discovers a note to Maurice from Isidora in the forest. Jealousy flares up in Louise, and she decides to go to her lover, contrary to decency, in order to check her suspicions. She meets the mustanger Isidora in the hut. When she sees her rival, she decides to leave the hut.
Imminent danger
Thanks to Isidora, the search party easily discovers the mustanger's home. Woodley Poindexter finds his daughter in him and sends the girl home. This is very useful, because those gathered are already ready to lynch Maurice, mainly because of Colquhoun's false testimony. The girl manages to delay the execution for some time, but passions flare up with renewed vigor. The mustanger, who is now in an unconscious state, is ready to be hung up on a branch again. He is saved this time by Zeb Stump, who demands a fair trial. Maurice Gerald is taken to Fort Inge, to the guardhouse. Zeb Stump sets off on the trail of the participants in the drama. During his search, he manages to see a headless horseman at close range. Zeb becomes convinced that it is none other than Henry Poindexter.
Colhoun, while awaiting trial, asks Louise's hand in marriage from her uncle. The fact is that he is his debtor, so he can hardly refuse him. However, Louise doesn’t want to think about it. Then Colquhoun at the trial talks about how she secretly met with Maurice, as well as about the mustanger’s quarrel with Henry. Louise is forced to confirm that this is indeed the case.
How it really was
The summary is already approaching the end. “The Headless Horseman” (the plot of the work is described chapter by chapter) continues with the truth emerging from the Irishman’s story at the trial. He tells how he met Henry after a quarrel in the forest, made peace with him and they exchanged hats and capes as a sign of friendship. Henry left, and the mustanger decided to spend the night in the forest. Suddenly he was awakened by a shot, but Maurice from the work “The Headless Horseman,” a summary of which we are describing, did not attach much importance to it and fell asleep again. In the morning he found Henry's corpse, whose head had been cut off. In order to deliver the body to the relatives, the corpse had to be placed in the saddle of a mustang that belonged to Maurice, since Henry’s horse did not want to carry such a gloomy burden. Mustanger sat on Henry's horse, but did not take the reins in his hands, so when the horse bolted, he could not control it. As a result of this frenzied gallop, Maurice hit his head on a branch and then flew off his horse.
And at the moment of the story, Zeb appears, leading the headless horseman and Colquhoun with him. He saw how the latter tried to catch the rider in order to get rid of evidence. Zeb Stump declares in court that this is the killer. A bullet with initials belonging to Colquhoun, as well as a letter addressed to him, used as a wad, serve as evidence. Colquhoun tries to escape, but the mustanger catches him.
Spectacular finale
How does the novel "The Headless Horseman" end? The summary of the final events is very interesting. Colquhoun admits everything, but claims that he committed this murder by mistake. He wanted to hit the mustanger and did not know that Maurice had swapped clothes with Henry. Before hearing the court's verdict, Colhoun shoots the Irishman, who is saved from death by a medallion given by Louise. In desperation, Henry's killer shoots himself in the forehead.
It turns out that Maurice owns a large fortune. He marries Louise and buys Casa del Corvo from the heir Colhoun (he, it turns out, had a son). The servant Felim lives happily with them, as does Zeb Stump, who supplies the game to the table. After 10 years, Maurice and Louise already have 6 children. Miguel Diaz, shortly after their wedding, kills Isidora out of jealousy. For this he is hanged.
This is where Mine Reid ends his work. “The Headless Horseman,” a summary of which we have just described, is a very interesting and fascinating work. It may appeal to a wide range of readers. The summary of the story “The Headless Horseman” presented above, of course, cannot be compared with the original text.
Year: 1865 Genre: novel
Main characters: mustanger Gerald, a wealthy relative of the Poindexters - Cassius, Louisa and Henry - children of Mr. Poindexter
1865 Thomas Main Reid writes the novel The Headless Horseman. The work is based on stories that happened to the author in America. The main thing is that the plot concerns heroes who live in the 50s. nineteenth century in Texas.
the main idea The remarkable work of Thomas Maine Reed “The Headless Horseman” is that the author focuses the reader’s attention on such concepts as revenge, love, nobility, meanness.
Summary of Mine Reed The Headless Horseman
From the first pages of the novel, Mine Reed takes the reader to the 19th century in Texas. Wealthy plantation owner Woodley Poindexter and his family move to a new home. While they were on the way, they got lost. At this time, he meets Gerald Maurice. Gerald is a mustanger. He leaves a certain impression on everyone in the Poindexter family.
After moving, Woodley organizes a housewarming party, which includes Gerald. He contracted to organize the supply of horses for Woodley. Jnrald gives Woodley's daughter an expensive mustang, for this reason she falls in love with him more. Woodley's daughter's cousin hated the mustanger for this and plotted to kill him. He wants to commit a crime in a bar. But nothing works out for him and the conflict escalates into a duel. Gerald won this fight and thereby won everyone’s love and respect. Anger still boils in the cousin’s soul, and he does not deviate from the intended route. But now he thinks that he will not act on his own, but will ask the bandit Diaz for help. Diaz agrees.
At this time, Gerald corresponds with Louise, and even meets secretly. After the lovers meet, Gerald leaves the city and Henry, Louise's brother, wants to catch up with him and explain to him about his sister. At the same time, Cassius also leaves with the goal of killing the ardent lover. Morning comes and the family members do not find Henry at the place. Around the same time, one of the slaves brings Henry's bloody horse to their yard. It is believed that Henry was killed. For this reason, a detachment is being sent to search for his body. At night, the squad stumbles upon a terrible headless horseman. The squad, frightened, finds a place to stay for the night and tries to explain the strange phenomenon they saw. At this time, Diaz and his friends dressed up as Indians and hid in Gerald’s hut with the goal of taking his life. But instead of the owner of the house, a headless horseman arrives. The hiding ones are scared.
At the same time, Gerald's friend receives a note asking for help. The friend follows the indicated landmarks and finds Gerald in a painful state. He decides to take his old friend to his place. When the seemingly cherished target is nearby, they are overtaken by a detachment with the goal of executing Gerald. But thanks to a certain set of circumstances, the trial is postponed. In the meantime, everyone believes Henry is dead and Gerald is responsible for his death. While the trial is postponed, Gerald's friend goes to the prairie to prove his friend's innocence. He finds out all the circumstances and understands who the headless horseman really is. And then comes the day of Gerald's trial. At the appointed hour, a headless horseman approaches the court. It turns out that the rider is the murdered Henry. In addition, everyone understands after removing the bullet from his body that Colhoun killed him. Gerald said that Henry was mistakenly mistaken for him and shot, and then his head was cut off. The body was tied to the saddle and the horse carried the body of the murdered man until it came to trial.
Picture or drawing of Mine Reid - Headless Horseman
Other retellings and reviews for the reader's diary
- Brief summary of Jamila Aitmatov
At the beginning of the story, the hero looks at a small picture in a simple frame and remembers his youth. Then the story moves to the years of the Great Patriotic War.
Old man Kavanagh, returning from hunting, fell deep into the snow. Behind him remained a crooked chain of footprints, indicating the age of the person. Thinking about his past youth, the old man decided to check the woodpile
“The Headless Horseman,” whose main characters are the subject of this review, is a famous work by the English writer M. Reed, written by him in 1865. This work is one of the most famous in the author’s work, it occupies a prominent place in world literature and was filmed by a Soviet film studio in 1973.
Characteristics of the main character
At the very beginning, the writer introduces the reader to several characters in his story. The narrative begins with a description of the move of the wealthy planter Woodley Poindexter and his family to a new place of residence. On the way, the small detachment got lost, but was saved by a courageous mustanger whose name was Maurice Gerald. This is a courageous, strong and handsome young man, a native of Ireland. In America he occupied a very modest social position, as he was engaged in hunting wild horses. However, in his homeland he held the title of baronet. This man immediately made a great impression on travelers.
The work “The Headless Horseman,” whose main characters have bright and memorable characters, has a dynamic plot that captivates the reader from the very first pages. So, already at the very beginning, a conflict is brewing between the brave mustanger and the planter’s nephew, Cassius Colhoun.
Description of the villain
This character is the antagonist of the main character of the novel. He immediately disliked his new acquaintance out of jealousy: he was in love with his cousin Louise, the daughter of a planter, and wanted to marry her, but she fell in love with Maurice at first sight. Cassius was a retired military man with a very bad reputation. In addition, he is cowardly and arrogant, that is, he is the complete opposite of the hunter, which further intensifies the conflict between them.
Louise Poindexter
The novel “The Headless Horseman”, the main characters of which are written by the writer with the skill of a real psychologist, is interesting because in it elements of action-packed action are intertwined with a detective line. Maurice's beloved played a decisive role in the intrigue. Because of her, the hunter had a quarrel with her cousin, who was terribly jealous of her. Louise is a brave and determined girl. She has a strong-willed character, she is courageous, reasonable, but at the same time jealous, and sometimes can be quick-tempered. Nevertheless, she attracts the reader with her courage, dexterity, responsiveness and devotion.
Woodley Poindexter and his son
The work “The Headless Horseman,” whose main characters are distinguished by their integrity and expressiveness of character, conveys in sufficient detail and reliably the situation in America in the mid-nineteenth century. Woodley is a typical representative of the class of bankrupt plantation landowners, of whom there were many in American society on the eve of the Civil War. This man is noble in his own way: despite the difference in his position with Maurice’s, he immediately developed respect for him. He received him as a guest and treated him as an equal. He is a loving father and a caring owner.
One of the most famous English writers is Mayne Reed. "The Headless Horseman" is his most famous work, in which he reenacted his adventures in America. Another minor character of the work is Louise’s brother, Henry. This is a hot young man who, to his misfortune, quarreled with Maurice over his sister, which largely predetermined his fate, because Cassius, taking advantage of the quarrel, decided to kill the hunter and place all the blame on his cousin. However, he confused him with his rival and mistakenly killed Henry, whose corpse scared the locals.
Other minor characters
A true master of prose is Mine Reed. “The Headless Horseman” is a work in which he skillfully combined drama, detective and love story. One of the most colorful supporting characters is Maurice's friend Zeb Stump. He is brave, honest and noble. It was he who saved the main character from certain death (lynching) and proved that he was not guilty of Henry’s murder.
Another heroine of the work is Isidora. This is a very hot and fiery woman who is in love with Maurice. Having learned that she has a happy rival, she tries in every possible way to quarrel between the lovers. At the same time, she deceives Diaz, a jealous Mexican who is in love with her, who, out of jealousy, kills her at the end of the work, for which he himself is immediately lynched. So, a review of his most famous novel and a brief retelling of it allows you to get a general idea of Reed’s work. “The Headless Horseman” is a work that is a true classic of American literature.
Year of writing: 1865
Genre: novel
Main characters: Gerald- mustanger, Cassius- rich relative Poindexters, Louise and Henry- master's children Poindexter
A wonderful, moderately mysterious and full of adventure story is carefully presented in the summary of the novel “The Headless Horseman” for the reader's diary. We recommend reading the original - you'll love it!
Plot
Gerald attends a mustang show and falls in love with Louise. The girl also has feelings for the young man. Cassius notices the sympathy between them and is terribly jealous, because he wants to marry Louise. Gerald and Louise meet secretly. Gerald is a poor mustanger and cannot marry a rich aristocrat, but is planning to leave and marry her upon his return. Their date is caught by Cassius and Henry. Henry quarrels with Gerald, who leaves. Louise explains to her brother that he is a noble man. Henry rides after the mustanger, followed by Cassius. In the morning, Henry's bloody horse comes to the estate without a rider. The search begins. In the forest they see a scary headless horseman. Everyone thinks it's Gerald. After much intrigue, it turns out that Cassius accidentally killed Henry. Zeb Stump finds Gerald wounded in the forest and also solves Cassius' crime. Gerald and Louise remain together.
Conclusion (my opinion)
The main conclusion is that everything secret becomes clear, and also that evil will definitely be avenged. Love and nobility transcend all social barriers, and honesty and courage, both men and women alike, save human lives.
Reed's novel The Headless Horseman was written in 1865. The plot of the story is based on the author’s own fascinating adventures across America, which made a great impression on him.
Main characters
Maurice Gerald- a mustanger, a young, handsome man, noble and brave.
Louise Poindexter- Maurice's beloved, a beautiful, educated girl.
Other characters
Woodley Poindexter- Louise's father, a bankrupt planter.
Henry- son of Woodley Poindexter, a young, hot young man.
Cassius Colhoun- Poindexter's nephew, in love with Louise.
Zebalon Stump (Zeb)- an experienced hunter and tracker, a friend of Maurice.
Isidora de Los Llanos- a young Mexican woman in love with Maurice.
Felim- Maurice's servant.
Chapters 1-9
Ten wagons loaded with food supplies, luxurious furniture and black slaves stretch across the scorched, deserted prairie. This is heading to Texas Woodley Poindexter is a bankrupt planter. He is accompanied by his son Henry, daughter Louise and nephew Cassius Colquhoun.
Suddenly they found out that they were lost in the prairie, and did not have the slightest idea in which direction to move. A rider came to their aid - a “beautifully built, regular-featured” young man named Maurice Gerald. Strong and fearless, he made a living by catching wild horses, and therefore had the nickname Maurice the Mustanger. Louise fell in love with him at first sight.
Chapters 10-12
After safely arriving at Woundley, Poindexter and his family settled firmly in the Casa del Corvo estate. The hacienda was located "within a cannon shot of Fort Inge", not far from the river.
On the occasion of the housewarming, the Poindexters organized a dinner party, in the midst of which Maurice the Mustanger appeared. He brought in a herd of wild horses that he had caught at the request of the old planter. Everyone's attention was attracted by the unusual coloring of the mustang - a mare "dark chocolate color with white spots scattered as evenly as dark spots on the skin of a jaguar."
Mr. Poindexter was ready to pay the young man a large sum for a beautiful horse, but he flatly refused and presented the mustang as a gift “for good luck” to Louise. In front of everyone, he showed his skill and deftly tamed the wild mustang.
Chapters 13-18
Some time later, the commandant of Fort Inge returned the favor by organizing a luxurious picnic on the prairie. And “to amuse the guests, they decided to organize a hunt for wild horses.” Maurice the mustanger acted as a guide.
When “a wild herd appeared on the crest of a hill,” the speckled mare on which Louise was sitting “rushed at a mad gallop” towards her brothers. Maurice was seriously scared - if the mare caught up with the herd, she would certainly try to throw off the rider. He gave chase, followed by Colquhoun, hopelessly in love with Louise, and other riders.
When Maurice caught up with Louise, he realized that they were facing another danger - wild stallions, which at this time of year became "more dangerous than a wolf, panther or bear." They had to flee from a herd of mustangs, and the danger passed only when Maurice killed their leader with a well-aimed shot.
Noticing that they were not far from his hut, Maurice invited the girl to look at her. Louise "was pleasantly surprised to find books, paper, writing materials and other little things in the hut that testified to the education of the owner."
Meanwhile, of the forty horsemen who rushed to help Louise, only a few survived the race. Among them was Cassius Colhoun, who was burning with jealousy. Having caught up with Louise and the mustanger, he confirmed his guess - the cousin was carried away by her savior.
Chapters 19-27
That evening, the men gathered in the bar of the Na Prival hotel. Colquhoun proposed a toast to the company, which turned out to be very insulting to the Irishman Maurice. Additionally, he intentionally "elbowed the bronco" and his whiskey spilled on his shirt. In response, Maurice "threw the remains of his unfinished whiskey in his face."
It became clear that the quarrel would end in a shootout, during which both opponents were wounded. However, Maurice managed to force Colhoun to ask for forgiveness at gunpoint.
"Severe, almost fatal wounds" left both rivals bedridden. Due to extensive blood loss, Maurice was forced to stay in a miserable hotel room. Soon baskets of provisions began to arrive to him. It turned out that this was the work of Isidora de Los Llanos, who was in love with him, whom the mustanger had once saved from the Indians.
Louise found out about her rival and, tormented by the pangs of jealousy, decided to arrange a meeting with Maurice. The young people stopped hiding their feelings and confessed their love to each other.
Chapters 28-34
Woodley Poindexter forbade his daughter to ride horses when he learned the latest news - “Comanches on the warpath.” Realizing that meeting her lover on the prairie was now out of the question, Louise decided to use a trick. Since she was an excellent archer, she suggested that Maurice exchange letters using arrows.
But soon the air mail was not enough for the lovers, and they began to meet at night in the courtyard of the estate. One such meeting was witnessed by one hundred Cassius, who decided to deal with Maurice forever with the help of Henry Poindexter. He managed to quarrel between the young people.
Maurice informed his brother and sister that he was forced to urgently leave for his homeland, and promised to return in six months. Henry followed the mustanger to apologize.
Chapters 35-54
Colquhoun, enraged by Henry's behavior, followed the young man when he decided to apologize to Maurice. The next day it became known that Henry was missing, and later his horse galloped up, stained with blood.
A detachment immediately set out to search for the young man, who soon came across a pool of blood and hoof marks of two horses. Having learned that Henry was looking for Maurice before his disappearance, it was decided to go to the mustanger's hut.
Meanwhile, Maurice’s friend, an experienced hunter and tracker Zebulon Stump, nicknamed Zeb, appeared in Casa del Corvo. “Louise told Zeb everything she knew” - she feared that Maurice was the main suspect in her brother's disappearance. To save her beloved from merciless reprisals, she asked Zeb to immediately go to the mustanger's hut and warn him.
In the hut, Zeb discovered Felim, Maurice's Irish servant. Soon his dog Tara came running, with a note written in blood tied to her collar. Zeb and Phelim immediately went to help the mustanger in trouble - he was seriously wounded.
Chapters 55-85
Isidora went to Maurice's hut to visit him, but he was unconscious. Louise, suspecting something was wrong, decided to “break all rules of decency” and come to Maurice to confirm her suspicions of treason. In the hut, at the mustanger's bedside, she met Isidora.
On the way home, the proud Mexican woman showed the squad the way to Maurice's home, not suspecting that she had thus betrayed him. Seeing his daughter there, Mr. Poindexter ordered her to immediately return to Casa del Corvo.
The men, fueled by Colhoun's false testimony, were ready to hang the wounded mustanger without trial. And only thanks to the intercession of Zeb, the young man managed to escape the noose - he was sent to Fort Inge, and locked in the guardhouse.
Zeb, without wasting a moment, went to the prairie to conduct his own investigation. There he met the mysterious headless horseman, who had recently been scaring the locals to death. However, Zeb was sure that this headless horseman "was neither a scarecrow nor a devil." It was "someone's trick... someone's devil's trick." He decided to track him down and shoot the shy horse.
While awaiting Mustanger's trial, Colhoun asked Poindexter for his daughter's hand in marriage. He refused, but his nephew reminded him that he was his debtor and should not refuse. In a private conversation, Louise also “flatly refused Colhoun.” Then he threatened that at the trial he would tell about the quarrel between her brother and her lover, which would become irrefutable evidence of his guilt.
Chapters 86-100
At the trial, Maurice told how Henry caught up with him and apologized for being too harsh. As a sign of reconciliation, they "exchanged hats and cloaks." Henry went home, and Maurice spent the night in the forest. He woke up from the sound of a shot, but did not attach much importance to it. In the morning, he discovered Henry's corpse, whose head had been "cut off".
Mustanger decided to return to the fort to deliver the young man's body. To do this, he secured it to his horse, since Henry's horse was very scared. Out of old habit, Maurice did not take the reins in his hands, but someone else's horse carried him, and he hit the branch of a tree with all his strength, fell out of the saddle and lost consciousness. Only thanks to the faithful dog Tara, who found him, the seriously wounded mustanger managed to send news about himself.
At this moment Zeb appeared, leading the "headless horseman's horse". He presented evidence of the guilt of Colhoun, who mistakenly shot Henry, not knowing that he had swapped clothes with Maurice. Realizing that there was no way back, Colquhoun put a bullet in his forehead.
It turned out that Maurice is not a poor mustanger, but “the Irish baronet Sir Maurice Gerald,” the owner of a large fortune. He married Louise and paid off all his father-in-law's debts. After the wedding, the newlyweds "set off to travel around Europe", but soon returned to Casa del Corvo, where they lived happily. Ten years later, their friendly family was replenished with “six lovely kids.”
Conclusion
In his work, Mine Reed emphasized that you should not judge a person by his appearance, the thickness of his wallet or his origin. A kind, noble heart can beat in the chest of an ordinary mustanger, and a noble gentleman can turn out to be the ultimate scoundrel.
After reading the brief retelling of “The Headless Horseman,” we recommend reading the novel in its full version.
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