the tale was told of old brouwer , a most heretical disbeliever in ghosts , how he met the horseman returning from his foray into sleepy hollow , and was obliged to get up behind him ; how they galloped over bush and brake , over hill and swamp , until they reached the bridge ; when the horseman suddenly turned into a skeleton , threw old brouwer into the brook , and sprang away over the tree-tops with a clap of thunder .