What reason does Ichabod Crane give for visiting the Van Tassels, and what does Brom Bones do to get back at him for trying to steal Katrina?

Ichabod Crane would visit the Van Tassel home with the excuse that he was there as "singing-master" for Katrina. He wasn't afraid that her parents would disapprove but that Brom Bones, who also liked Katrina, would beat him up. Brom, however, did not resort to physical violence (probably because Crane was a weakling), but used practical jokes instead. Brom and some friends "smoked out the schoolhouse" by stopping the chimney, broke into the schoolhouse at night and turned everything upside down, and taught a dog to howl every time Crane began to sing. Of course, there is the Headless Horseman, who was probably Brom, but that is never confirmed.