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 Contributors

Carol M. Anderson, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh

Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Edward R. Anderson, PhD, Department of Human Development and Family
Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
Deidre Ashton, LCSW, Princeton Family Institute, Princeton, New Jersey
Leah Bloom, MSMFT, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
Nancy Boyd-Franklin, PhD, Graduate School of Applied and Professional
Psychology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey
Carrie Capstick, PhD, private practice, New York, New York
Carolyn Pape Cowan, PhD, Department of Psychology and Institute of Human
Development, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
Philip A. Cowan, PhD, Department of Psychology and Institute of Human
Development, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California
David S. DeGarmo, PhD, Oregon Social Learning Center, Eugene, Oregon
Janice Driver, PhD, Eastside Parenting Clinic, Inc., Bellevue, Washington
Malitta Engstrom, PhD, LCSW, School of Social Service Administration, University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Marina Eovaldi, PhD, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
Celia Jaes Falicov, PhD, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine
and Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego,
La Jolla, California
Mona DeKoven Fishbane, PhD, Chicago Center for Family Health, Chicago, Illinois
Marion S. Forgatch, PhD, Oregon Social Learning Center, Eugene, Oregon
Peter Fraenkel, PhD, Department of Psychology, City College, City University
of New York, New York, New York
Chelsea Garneau, PhD, Family and Child Sciences, School of Human Sciences,
the Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida

vi
 Contributors vii

John M. Gottman, PhD, The Gottman Institute, Inc., Seattle, Washington

Robert-Jay Green, PhD, Rockway Institute for LGBT Psychology, California
School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University,
San Francisco, California
Shannon M. Greene, PhD, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences,
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
E. Mavis Hetherington, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville, Virginia
Evan Imber-Black, PhD, Ackerman Institute for the Family, New York,
New York, and Marriage and Family Therapy Master’s Program, Mercy College,
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Melanie Karger, MA, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology,
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey
Carmen Knudson-Martin, PhD, Counseling and Family Sciences, Loma Linda
University, Loma Linda, California
Jay Lebow, PhD, The Family Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Cassandra Ma, PsyD, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
Monica McGoldrick, MSW, PhD(Hon.), The Multicultural Family Institute,
Highland Park, New Jersey
Kay Pasley, EdD, Family and Child Sciences, School of Human Sciences, Florida
State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Cheryl Rampage, PhD, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
John S. Rolland, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Center for Family Health,
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Gina Miranda Samuels, PhD, School of Social Service Administration,
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Alyson F. Shapiro, PhD, School of Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State
University, Tempe, Arizona
Tazuko Shibusawa, PhD, Silver School of Social Work, New York University,
New York, New York
Erica L. Spotts, PhD, Division of Behavioral and Social Research, National Institute
on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
Catherine B. Stroud, PhD, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
Amber Tabares, PhD, private practice, Bellevue, Washington
Froma Walsh, PhD, School of Social Service Administration, Department of
Psychiatry, and Center for Family Health, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Catherine Weigel Foy, MSW, The Family Institute, Northwestern University,
Evanston, Illinois
 Preface to the Paperback Edition

S ince the publication of the fourth edition of Normal Family Processes in

2012, families worldwide are continuing to become increasingly diverse,
complex, and fluid in composition and living arrangements. “New normal”
families vary in structure, gender arrangements, multicultural makeup, socio-
economic conditions, and life-cycle patterns. Many strains in family life are
generated by larger societal forces and by disruptive transformations in the
global economy. Vast social and economic disparities affect marriage pros-
pects, family stability, and wellbeing, especially for racial and ethnic minori-
ties and others facing marginalization and discrimination. Yet, as research
in this volume documents, most families raise their children well and show
remarkable resilience in surmounting their challenges and forging creative
new pathways forward.
There is increasing recognition and normalization of the wide spectrum
in human sexuality, including gender identity, sexual orientation, and rela-
tional bonds for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons. A growing
body of research finds that children of lesbian and gay parents function as well
as—and often better than—those of heterosexual parents in terms of mental
health and parent–child relationships (Fedewa, Black, & Ahn, 2015; Green,
Chapter 8, this volume). Most noteworthy, in June, 2015, the United States
Supreme Court ruled in favor of nationwide marriage equality for same-sex
couples in Obergefell v. Hodges. This landmark decision will help same-sex
partners clarify their mutual commitments and obligations, and improve their
ability to take care of and provide for one another and their children in times
of illness or death. And yet, serious barriers persist. For instance, many states
lack legal protections against discrimination in employment and housing.
Many same-sex couples (especially those in conservative religious groups) face
rejection, discrimination, or violence from their families and communities.
Thus, challenges remain ahead.
viii
 Preface to the Paperback Edition ix

The state-of-the-art research and clinical perspectives in this volume are

attuned to our times and varied social contexts. By illuminating the varied
challenges today’s couples and families face and the relational processes that
enable them to adapt and thrive, they enrich our understanding of effective
family functioning and can inform our best approaches to strengthening fami-
lies in distress.

Reference

Fedewa, A. L., Black, W. W., & Ahn, S. (2015). Children and adolescents with same-
gender parents: A meta-analytic approach in assessing outcomes. Journal of
GLBT Family Studies, 11, 1–34.
 Preface (2012)

T he“thechanging landscape of family life in a turbulent world has become

new normal.” As families face unprecedented challenges and stitch
together a growing diversity and complexity of relational patterns, we need to
understand their struggles and their strivings. Drawing on the most current
research and practice perspectives, this volume illuminates the strengths and
challenges in the broad spectrum of contemporary families, identifying the
family processes that foster well-being, adaptation, and resilience.
The first edition of Normal Family Processes, published in 1982, was
hailed as a landmark volume in the clinical literature. It was the first text to
examine normality from a family systems orientation, presenting pioneering
research and conceptualization of well-functioning families. With traditional
clinical training and practice focused on family dysfunction and blind to fam-
ily strengths, I remarked that a “normal family” might be defined as one that
had not yet been clinically assessed! In drawing attention to transactional
processes in “nonclinical” average families and high-functioning families, the
book was influential in rebalancing the skewed clinical perspective from fam-
ily deficits to family strengths and resources.
The second and third editions (1993, 2003) advanced our understand-
ing of family functioning as families and society were becoming increasingly
diverse. In the mental health field and the larger society, those who did not
conform to the reified standard of “the normal family” tended to be patholo-
gized and stigmatized, reinforcing their sense of failure and deficiency. Inter-
ventions often aimed inappropriately to mold all families into a “one-size-
fits-all” model that didn’t fit their lives. Postmodern theory heightened our
awareness of the profound influence of socially constructed views of normal-
ity, filtered by cultural and professional values and biases.
This fourth edition updates and expands our knowledge and perspectives
on couples and families in the second decade of the 21st century. As clini-
cians, researchers, and social policy formulators move beyond assumptions
x
 Preface (2012) xi

of a single model for healthy families, it is essential for efforts to be informed

by the most current research and conceptual advances. This volume examines
family life in sociocultural and developmental contexts and identifies key pro-
cesses in healthy functioning and resilience under stressful conditions. Chap-
ters in this volume address the challenges and strengths in the broad spectrum
of families today, considering their diverse cultural orientation and socioeco-
nomic circumstances; and their varied and fluid structural arrangements, gen-
der roles, sexual orientation, and passage over the life course and across the
generations. Whereas sociological surveys of family demographics can track
population trends such as marriage and divorce, this volume is unique in its
focus on the interior of family life, examining shared belief systems, organi-
zational patterns, and communication/problem-solving processes. Chapters
describe how families navigate their life challenges and the transactional pro-
cesses that can enable them to thrive. Implications for clinical and community
practice are woven throughout.
The authors in this new edition are at the forefront of research, theory
building, and clinical training. They present the latest data, identify trends,
and offer useful frameworks to guide intervention and prevention efforts
to strengthen families. Part I critically examines assumptions about normal
families. Chapter 1 grounds the volume in a systemic framework, with eco-
logical and developmental perspectives on family processes, adaptation, and
resilience. A broad conceptualization of the family is inclusive of diverse
values and structures, varied household composition, and extended kinship
networks. Through a sociohistorical lens, emerging trends in couple and
family life are highlighted, revealing the challenges and vitality of today’s
families in adapting to their changing social, economic, and global environ-
ment. Chapter 2 examines clinical perspectives on “normal” (i.e., average)
and “healthy” (i.e., optimal) family functioning as they influence assessment
of family dysfunction and therapeutic goals. The shift in focus from fam-
ily deficits to family strengths and resilience in family therapy theory and
practice is described, with recommendations for clinical training, practice,
and research.
Parts II, III, and IV address the diversity and complexity of patterns in
family functioning relative to varied structural forms, life challenges, and
sociocultural and developmental contexts. Family risk, coping, adaptation,
and resilience are considered in relation to the interplay of intrafamilial and
environmental stressors. As the chapters demonstrate, some family patterns
and adaptive strategies may be more functional than others in mastering a
particular set of challenges—be it dual-earner families, stepfamily integra-
tion, transnational migration, or conditions of poverty, racism, or other forms
of discrimination. Drawing on research and clinical experience, three ques-
tions frame the discussion:

1. What are the “normal” (i.e., common, expectable) family challenges

and adaptive strategies under various conditions or stressors?
xii Preface (2012)

2. Can we identify key family processes that enable coping and mas-
tery of challenges (e.g., in successful single-parent families; in resil-
ient postdivorce families; among people with serious illness or disabil-
ity)?
3. How can scholarly findings and insights inform clinical practice?

Part II, “Varying Family Forms and Challenges,” includes topics such as
interactional patterns in successful couple relationships, by Janice Driver and
Gottman research colleagues; navigating work and family challenges in dual-
earner families, by Peter Fraenkel and Carrie Capstick; risk and resilience
after divorce, by Shannon M. Greene and research colleagues; single-parent
households, by Carol M. Anderson; remarriage and stepfamily life, by Kay
Pasley and Chelsea Garneau; gay and lesbian family life, by Robert-Jay Green;
kinship care, by Malitta Engstrom; and adoptive families, by Cheryl Rampage
and colleagues. In Part III, “Cultural Dimensions in Family Functioning,”
the topics include culture and concepts of normality, by Monica McGoldrick
and Deidre Ashton; race, class, and poverty, by Nancy Boyd-Franklin and
Melanie Karger; immigrant family processes, by Celia Jaes Falicov; changing
gender norms, by Carmen Knudson-Martin; and the spiritual dimension of
family life, by Froma Walsh. Part IV, “Developmental Perspectives on Family
Functioning,” includes topics such as the family life cycle, by Monica McGol-
drick and Tazuko Shibusawa; family resilience, by Froma Walsh; normative
family transitions, couple relationship quality, and healthy child development,
by Philip A. Cowan and Carolyn Pape Cowan; family challenges with illness,
disability, and genetic conditions, by John S. Rolland; and the value of rituals
in family and community life, by Evan Imber-Black.
In Part V, “Advancing Family Systems Research and Practice,” Jay Lebow
and Catherine B. Stroud survey the state-of-the-science in assessment of couple
and family functioning. The concluding two chapters affirm the importance of
a biopsychosocial systems orientation in family research, theory, and practice.
Erica L. Spotts examines gene–environment interplay and family processes
and Mona DeKoven Fishbane addresses neurobiology and family processes.
This volume is designed to serve as a core textbook for clinical training
and practice in psychology, social work, marriage and family therapy, coun-
seling, psychiatry, and nursing; as a sourcebook for practitioners in a wide
range of mental health, healthcare, and human service professions; for schol-
ars and students in the social sciences; and for those formulating family policy
in public and private arenas. It is intended as a resource for all who strive to
improve the quality of family life and the well-being of all family members
from the newborn to the eldest. The cutting-edge knowledge and perspectives
presented here, all by distinguished authors at the forefront of the field, can
inform and enrich intervention and prevention efforts, family research, social
policy, and community-based programs, shifting focus from how families fail
to how they can succeed.
 Preface (2012) xiii

Acknowledgments

On behalf of all the authors, I would like to express our deep appreciation
to the families who have let us into their lives, informed our research, and
enriched our teaching and practice. We are also grateful to our loved ones and
close friends who support and encourage our endeavors and nourish our spir-
its. I want to thank the staff of The Guilford Press, particularly Senior Editor
Jim Nageotte and his assistant, Jane Keislar, for their valuable contributions
to this new edition. I also wish to thank Claire Whitney for her keen eye and
insightful feedback on chapters in this volume.
This new edition is dedicated to the everyday families who strive to do
their best and to care lovingly for one another, as they navigate the stressful
challenges of family life and weather the economic turmoil of our times.
 Contents

Part I. OVERVIEW

Chapter 1. The New Normal: Diversity and Complexity 3

in 21st‑Century Families
Froma Walsh

Chapter 2. Clinical Views of Family Normality, 28

Health, and Dysfunction:
From a Deficits to a Strengths Perspective
Froma Walsh

Part II. VARYING FAMILY FORMS AND CHALLENGES

Chapter 3. Couple Interaction in Happy 57

and Unhappy Marriages:
Gottman Laboratory Studies
Janice Driver, Amber Tabares, Alyson F. Shapiro,
and John M. Gottman

Chapter 4. Contemporary Two‑Parent Families: 78

Navigating Work and Family Challenges
Peter Fraenkel and Carrie Capstick

Chapter 5. Risk and Resilience after Divorce 102

Shannon M. Greene, Edward R. Anderson, Marion S. Forgatch,
David S. DeGarmo, and E. Mavis Hetherington

xiv
 Contents xv

Chapter 6. The Diversity, Strengths, and Challenges 128

of Single‑Parent Households
Carol M. Anderson

Chapter 7. Remarriage and Stepfamily Life 149

Kay Pasley and Chelsea Garneau

Chapter 8. Gay and Lesbian Family Life: 172

Risk, Resilience, and Rising Expectations
Robert‑Jay Green

Chapter 9. Family Processes in Kinship Care 196

Malitta Engstrom

Chapter 10. Adoptive Families 222

Cheryl Rampage, Marina Eovaldi, Cassandra Ma,
Catherine Weigel Foy, Gina Miranda Samuels, and Leah Bloom

Part III. CULTURAL DIMENSIONS

IN FAMILY FUNCTIONING

Chapter 11. Culture: A Challenge to Concepts of Normality 249

Monica McGoldrick and Deidre Ashton

Chapter 12. Intersections of Race, Class, and Poverty: 273

Challenges and Resilience
in African American Families
Nancy Boyd‑Franklin and Melanie Karger

Chapter 13. Immigrant Family Processes: 297

A Multidimensional Framework
Celia Jaes Falicov

Chapter 14. Changing Gender Norms in Families and Society: 324

Toward Equality amid Complexities
Carmen Knudson‑Martin

Chapter 15. The Spiritual Dimension of Family Life 347

Froma Walsh
xvi Contents

Part IV. DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES

ON FAMILY FUNCTIONING

Chapter 16. The Family Life Cycle 375

Monica McGoldrick and Tazuko Shibusawa

Chapter 17. Family Resilience: Strengths Forged through Adversity 399

Froma Walsh

Chapter 18. Normative Family Transitions, Couple Relationship 428

Quality, and Healthy Child Development
Philip A. Cowan and Carolyn Pape Cowan

Chapter 19. Mastering Family Challenges in Serious Illness 452

and Disability
John S. Rolland

Chapter 20. The Value of Rituals in Family Life 483

Evan Imber‑Black

Part V. ADVANCING FAMILY SYSTEMS RESEARCH

AND PRACTICE

Chapter 21. Assessment of Effective Couple 501

and Family Functioning:
Prevailing Models and Instruments
Jay Lebow and Catherine B. Stroud

Chapter 22. Unraveling the Complexity 529

of Gene–Environment Interplay
and Family Processes
Erica L. Spotts

Chapter 23. Neurobiology and Family Processes 553

Mona DeKoven Fishbane

Index 575
 Pa r t I

OVERVIEW
 Chapter 1

The New Normal

Diversity and Complexity
in 21st‑Century Families

Froma Walsh

All happy families are alike; every unhappy family

is unhappy in its own way.
—Tolstoy

All happy families are more or less dissimilar;

all unhappy ones are more or less alike.
—Nabokov

F amilies and the world around them have changed dramatically over recent
decades. Many traditionalists, sharing Tolstoy’s view, have contended that
families must conform to one model—­fitting a cultural standard of “the nor-
mal family”—to be happy and raise children well. As families have become
increasingly varied over a lengthening life course, our conceptions of normal-
ity must be examined and our very definition of “family” must be expanded
to encompass a broad spectrum and fluid reshaping of relational and house-
hold patterns. This is the “new normal.” Supporting Nabokov’s view of happy
families, a substantial body of research attests to the potential for healthy
functioning and well-being in a variety of family arrangements. In our turbu-
lent times, family bonds are more vital than ever. It is important to understand
the challenges families face and the family processes that can enable them to
thrive.
This overview chapter seeks to advance our knowledge of the diversity
and complexity of contemporary families. First, we consider the social con-
struction of family normality and clarify four major perspectives from the
clinical field and the social sciences. The value of a systems orientation is
highlighted, to understand “normal” family processes in terms of average and
optimal family functioning. Next, a sociohistorical lens is used to survey the
3
4 OVERVIEW

emerging trends and challenges for today’s families. Chapter 2 then examines
the influence of assumptions about family normality and dysfunction in clini-
cal training and practice.

What Is a Normal Family?

The Social Construction of Normality
Clinicians and family scholars have become increasingly aware that defini-
tions of normality are socially constructed, influenced by subjective world-
views and by the larger culture (Hoffman, 1990). Most influential theory and
research on the family were developed by white, middle-class scholars and
professionals, predominantly male, and from a Euro-­A merican cultural per-
spective. Family therapists have become wary of the term “normal,” taking to
heart Foucault’s (1980) criticism that too often in history, theories of normal-
ity have been constructed by dominant groups, reified by religion or science,
and used to pathologize those who do not fit prescribed standards. Notions of
normality sanction and privilege certain family arrangements while stigmatiz-
ing and marginalizing others.
The very concept of the family has been undergoing redefinition as pro-
found social, economic, and political changes of recent decades have altered
the landscape of family life (Coontz, 1997). Amid the turmoil, individuals
and their loved ones have been forging new and varied relationship patterns
within and across households as they strive to build caring and committed
bonds. These efforts are made more difficult by questions about their nor-
mality. Our understanding of family functioning—from healthy to average to
dysfunctional—must take into account these challenges and changes in family
life in our changing world.
Although some might argue that the growing diversity and complexity
of families make it impossible or unwise even to address the topic of normal-
ity, the very subjectivity of constructions of “the normal family” makes it
all the more imperative. They powerfully influence all clinical theory, prac-
tice, research, and policy. It is crucial to be aware of the explicit and implicit
assumptions and biases about normal families that are embedded in our cul-
tural, professional, and personal belief systems.

Varied Conceptions of Family Normality

Defining family normality is problematic in that the term “normal” is used to
refer to quite different concepts and is influenced by the subjective position of
the observer and the surrounding culture. The label may hold quite different
meanings to a clinician, a researcher, or a family concerned about its own nor-
mality. Our language confounds understanding when such terms as “healthy,”
“typical,” and “functional” are used interchangeably with the label “normal.”
In an overview of concepts of mental health in the clinical and social science
 The New Normal 5

literature, Offer and Sabshin (1974) were struck by the varied definitions of a
“normal” person. Building on their synthesis of views of individual normal-
ity, four perspectives can be usefully distinguished to clarify conceptions of a
normal family: (1) normal as problem-free (asymptomatic); (2) normal as aver-
age; (3) normal as healthy; and (4) normal in relation to basic transactional
processes in family systems.

Normal Families as Problem‑Free

From this clinical perspective grounded in the medical/psychiatric model,
the judgment of normality is based on a negative criterion: the absence of
pathology. A family would be regarded as normal—and healthy—if members
and their relationships are asymptomatic. This perspective is limited by its
deficit-based skew, focused on symptoms of distress and severity of problems,
and inattention to positive attributes of family well-being. Healthy family
functioning involves more than the absence of problems and can be found in
the midst of problems, as in family resilience (Walsh, 2003; see also Walsh,
Chapter 17, this volume). As Minuchin (1974) has emphasized, no families
are problem-free; all families face ordinary problems in living. Thus, the pres-
ence of distress is not necessarily an indication of family pathology. Similarly,
freedom from symptoms is rare: As Kleinman (1988) reported, at any given
time, three out of four persons are “symptomatic,” experiencing some physi-
cal or psychological distress. Most define it as part of normal life and do not
seek treatment.
Further problems arise when therapy is used as the marker for family
dysfunction, as in research comparing clinical and nonclinical families as dis-
turbed and normal samples. “Nonclinical” families are a heterogeneous group
spanning the entire range of functioning. What is defined as a problem, and
whether help is sought, varies with different family and cultural norms. Wor-
risome conflict in one family might be considered a healthy airing of differ-
ences in another. Distressed families most often attempt to handle problems
on their own, more frequently turning to their kin or spiritual resources than
to mental health services (Walsh, 2009d). Moreover, as mental health profes-
sionals would avow, seeking help can be a sign of health.

Normal Families as Average

From this perspective, a family is viewed as normal if it fits patterns that are
common or expectable in ordinary families. This approach disengages the
concept of normality from health and absence of symptoms. Since stressful
challenges are part of everyday life, family problems or distress would not nec-
essarily signal family abnormality or pathology. Yet family patterns that are
common are not necessarily healthy; some, such as violence, are destructive.
Social scientists have traditionally used statistical measures of frequency
or central tendency in the “normal distribution,” or bell-­shaped curve, with
6 OVERVIEW

the middle range on a continuum taken as normal and both extremes as

deviant. Thus, by definition, families that are atypical are “abnormal,” with
negative connotations of deviance too often pathologizing difference. By this
standard, an optimally functioning family at the high end of a continuum
would be abnormal. Given the multiplicity of family arrangements in contem-
porary society, the normal distribution is no longer a bell-­shaped curve, and
no single predominant model is typical. Rather the curve has flattened, with
many peaks along the broad spectrum, reflecting the many, varied ways that
ordinary, average families organize and experience family life.

Normal Families as Healthy, Ideal

This perspective on normality defines a healthy family in terms of ideal traits
for optimal functioning. However, many standards of healthy families are
derived from clinical theory and based on inference from disturbed cases seen
in clinical practice (see Walsh, Chapter 2, this volume). The pervasiveness of
cultural ideals must also be considered. Social norms of the ideal family are
culturally sanctioned values that prescribe how families ought to be. Particu-
lar family patterns and roles are deemed desirable, proper, or essential for
marriage and childrearing, in accord with prevailing standards in the domi-
nant society or particular ethnic or religious values.
It is crucial not to conflate concepts of normal as typical and ideal. In
the 1950s, sociologist Talcott Parsons’s influential study of “the normal fam-
ily” made a theoretical leap from description of a sample of “typical” white,
middle-class, suburban, nuclear families to the prescription of those patterns,
such as “proper” gender roles, as universal and essential for healthy child
development (Parsons & Bales, 1955). Leading social scientists and psychia-
trists adhered to that model for decades, contending that deviation from those
patterns damaged children and even contributed to schizophrenia (Lidz, 1963).
Such pathologizing of differences from the norm—­either typical or ideal—­
stigmatizes families that do not conform to the standard, such as working
mothers, single-­parent households, and gay- or lesbian-­headed families (see
chapters in Part II, this volume).

Normal Family Processes

The conceptualization of normal family processes, grounded in family sys-
tems theory, considers both average and optimal functioning in terms of basic
processes in human systems, dependent on an interaction of biopsychosocial
variables (von Bertalanffy, 1968; Grinker, 1967). Viewing functioning in
sociocultural and developmental contexts, this transactional approach attends
to dynamic processes over time and affirms varied coping styles and multiple
adaptational pathways. This perspective contrasts sharply from an acontex-
tual approach seeking to define universal or fixed traits of a so-­called normal
family, thought of as a static, timeless structure or institution.
 The New Normal 7

Normal functioning is conceptualized in terms of basic patterns of inter-

action in relational systems (Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 1967). Such pro-
cesses support the integration and maintenance of the family unit and its abil-
ity to carry out essential tasks for the growth and well-being of its members,
such as the nurturance, care, and protection of children, elders, and other
vulnerable members. Unconventional (atypical) family arrangements may
be optimal for the functioning of a particular family, fitting its challenges,
resources, and context.
Families develop their own internal norms, expressed through explicit
and unspoken relationship rules (Jackson, 1965). A set of patterned and pre-
dictable rules, conveyed in family stories and ongoing transactions, regulates
family processes and provides expectations about roles, actions, and conse-
quences. Family belief systems are shared values and assumptions that guide
family life, and provide meaning and organize experience in the social world
(Reiss, 1981). Societal, ethnic, social class, and spiritual values strongly influ-
ence family norms (see McGoldrick & Ashton, Chapter 11; Falicov, Chapter
13; Walsh, Chapter 15, this volume).
A biopsychosocial systems orientation takes into account the multiple,
recursive influences in individual and family functioning. From an ecosys-
temic perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), each family’s capabilities and cop-
ing style are considered in relation to the needs of individual members and to
the larger community and social systems in which the family is embedded.
Family functioning is influenced by the fit, or compatibility, between indi-
viduals, their families, and larger social systems. The bidirectional influences
of genetic/biological vulnerabilities and other social influences must be con-
sidered (D’Onofrio & Lahey, 2010; Spotts, Chapter 22, this volume). Family
distress is viewed in context: It may be generated by internal stressors, such as
the strain of coping with an illness, and complicated by external influences,
such as inadequate health care (see Rolland, Chapter 19, this volume).
A family developmental framework considers processes in the multi-
generational system as it moves forward over time (McGoldrick, Carter, &
Garcia-Preto, 2011; see McGoldrick & Shibusawa, Chapter 16, this volume).
The traditional model of the family life cycle, with normative assumptions of
an expectable trajectory and sequence of stages—­marriage followed by chil-
drearing, launching, retirement, and death/widowhood—­tended to stigmatize
those whose life course differed. For instance, women who remained single
or “childless” were widely judged as having incomplete lives. In contempo-
rary life, individuals, couples, and families forge increasingly varied and fluid
life passages (Cherlin, 2010). A remarriage family comprised of a 50-year-old
husband, his 35-year-old wife, their toddler twins, and his adolescent chil-
dren, in shared custody with their mother, cannot be simply classified at a
single particular life stage. Still, a flexible family developmental framework
can be of value to identify salient issues and challenges that commonly arise
with particular phases and transitions, as with parenthood and adolescence,
and with divorce and stepfamily formation. Family development can usefully
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
"When Ridley was shot Nelson was with Idaho Norton in Quayle's
hotel, for both of them rustled into th' street an' carried him indoors.
Thompson was in th' front room, here, an' Long come in soon after
the shot was fired."
"Excellent. Which way did he come?"
"Through th' front door."
"Before that?" demanded the boss impatiently.
"I don't know."
"Why don't you?" blazed Kane. "Have I got to do all th' thinking for
this crowd of dumbheads?"
"Why, why should I know?" Corwin asked in surprise.
"If you don't know the answer to your own question it is only
wasting my time to tell it to you. Now, listen: You are to send four
men in to me—but not Mexicans, for the testimony of Mexicans in
this country is not taken any too seriously by juries. The four are not
all to come the same way nor at the same time. The dumbheads I
have around me necessitate that each be instructed separate and
apart from the others, else they wouldn't know, or keep separate
their own part. Is this plain?"
"Yes," answered the arm of the law.
"Very well. Now you will go out and arrange to arrest and jail those
two men. And after you have arranged it you will do it. Not a shot is
to be fired. When they are in jail report to me. That is all."
Corwin departed and did not scratch his head until the door closed
after him, and then he showed great signs of perplexity. As he went
up the next corridor he caught sight of a friend leaning against the
back of the partition, and just beyond was Bill Trask at his new post.
He beckoned to them both.
"Sandy, you are to report to th' boss, right away," ordered the
sheriff. "He wants four white men, an' yo're near white. Trask, send
in three more white men, one at a time, after Woods comes out. An'
let me impress this on yore mind: It is strict orders that you ain't to
fire a shot tonight, when somethin' happens that's goin' to happen;
you, nor nobody else. Got that good?"
"What do you mean?" asked the sentry, grinning.
"Good G—d!" snorted the sheriff. "Do I have to do all th' thinkin' for
this crowd of dumbheads?"
"Yo're a parrot," retorted Trask. "I know that by heart. You don't
have to. You don't even do yore own. You may go!"
Corwin grunted and joined the crowd in the big room and when Bill
Long wandered in and settled down to watch a game the sheriff in
due time found a seat at his side. His conversation was natural, not
too steady and not too friendly and neither did he tarry too long, for
when he thought that he had remained long enough he wandered
up to the bar, joked with the chief dispenser, and mixed with the
crowd. After awhile he went out and strolled over to the jail, where a
dozen men were waiting for him. His lecture to them was painfully
simple, in the simplest words of his simple vocabulary, and when he
at last returned to the gambling-hall he was certain that his pupils
were letter-perfect.
Meanwhile Kane had been busy and when the first of the four
appeared the clear-thinking boss drove straight to his point. He
looked intently at the caller and asked: "Where were you on the
night of the storm, at the time the bank was robbed?"
"Upstairs playin' cards with Harry."
"Do you know where Long and Thompson were at that time?"
"Shore; they was upstairs."
"I am going to surprise you," said Kane, smiling, and he did, for he
told his listener where he had been on that night, what he had seen,
and what he had found in the morning in front of the door of Bill
Long's door. He did it so well that the listener began to believe that
it was so, and said as much.
"That's just what you must believe," exclaimed Kane. "Go over it
again and again. Picture it, with natural details, over and over again.
Live every minute, every step of it. If you forget anything about it
come to me and I'll refresh your memory. I'll do so anyway, when
the time comes. You may go."
The second and third man came, learned their lessons and departed.
The fourth, a grade higher in intelligence, was given a more difficult
task and before he was dismissed Kane went to a safe, took out a
bundle of large bills and handed two of them to his visitor, who
nodded, pocketed them and departed. He was to plant them, find
them again and return them so that the latter part of the operation
would be clear in his memory.
Supper was over and the big room crowded. Jokes and laughter
sounded over the quiet curses of the losers. Bill Long, straddling a
chair, with his arms crossed on its back, watched a game and
exchanged banter with the players during the deals. Red Thompson,
playing in another game not far away, was winning slowly but
consistently. Somebody started a night-herding song and others
joined in, making the ceiling ring. Busy bartenders were endeavoring
to supply the demand. The song roared through the first verse and
the second, and in the middle of the following chorus, at the first
word of the second line there was a sudden, concerted movement,
and chaos reigned.
Unexpectedly attacked by half a dozen men each Bill and Red fought
valiantly but vainly. In Bill's group two men had been told off to go
for his guns, one to each weapon, and they had dived head-first at
the signal. Red's single gun had been obtained in the same way.
Stamping feet, curses, grunts, groans, the soft sound of fist on flesh,
the scraping of squirming masses of men going this way and that,
the heavy breathing and other sounds of conflict filled the dusty,
smoky air. Chairs crashed, tables toppled and were wrecked by the
surging groups and then, suddenly, the turmoil ceased and the two
bound, battered, and exhausted men swayed dizzily in the hands of
their captors, their chests rising and falling convulsively beneath
their ragged shirts as they gulped the foul air.
Two men rocked on the floor, slobbering over cracked shins, another
lay face down across the wreck of a chair, his gory face torn from
mouth to cheekbone; another held a limp and dangling arm, cursing
with monotonous regularity; a fifth, blood pouring from his torn
scalp and blinding him, groped aimlessly around the room.
Corwin glanced around, shook his head and looked at his two
prisoners in frank admiration. "You fellers shore can lick h—l out of
th' man that invented fightin'!"
Bill Long glared at him. "I didn't see—you—nowhere near!" he
panted. "Turn us—loose—an' we'll clean—out th' place. We was—
two-thirds—licked before we—knew it was comin'."
"Don't waste yore—breath on th'—d—d — —" snarled Red. "There's
a few I'm aimin' to—kill when I—get th' chance!"
"What's th' meanin' of—this surprise party?" asked Bill Long.
"It means that you an' Thompson are under arrest for robbin' th'
bank; an' you for th' murder of Ridley," answered the peace officer,
frowning at the ripple of laughter which arose. A pock-marked
Mexican, whose forehead bore a crescent-shaped scar, seemed to be
unduly hilarious and vastly relieved about something.
Thorpe came swiftly across the room toward Bill Long, snarled a
curse, and struck with vicious energy at the bruised face. Bill rolled
his head and the blow missed. Before the assailant could recover his
balance and strike again a brawny, red-haired giant, whose one good
eye glared over a battered nose, lunged swiftly forward and knocked
Thorpe backwards over a smashed chair and overturned table. The
prostrate man groped and half arose, to look dazedly into the giant's
gun and hear the holder of it give angry warning.
"Any more of that an' I'll blow you apart!" roared the giant. "An' that
goes for any other skunk in th' room. Bear-baitin' is barred." He
looked at Corwin. "You've got 'em—now get 'em out of here an' into
jail, before I has to kill somebody!"
Corwin called to his men and with the prisoners in the middle the
little procession started for the old adobe jail on the next street, the
pleased sheriff bringing up the rear, his Colt swinging in his hand.
When the prisoners had been locked up behind its thick walls he
sighed with relief, posted two guards, front and rear, and went back
to report to Kane that a good job had been well done.
The boss nodded and bestowed one of his rare compliments. "That
was well handled, Sheriff," he said. "I am sorry your work is not yet
finished. A zealous peace officer like you should be proud enough of
such a capture as to be anxious to inform those most interested.
Also," he smiled, "you naturally would be anxious to put in a claim
for the reward. Therefore you should go right down to McCullough
and lay the entire matter before him, as I shall now instruct you,"
and the instructions were as brief as thoroughness would allow. "Is
that clear?" asked the boss at the end of the lesson.
"It ain't only clear," enthused Corwin; "but it's gilt-edged; I'm on my
way, now!"
"Report to me before morning," said Kane.
Hurrying from the room and the building the sheriff saddled his
horse and rode briskly down the trail. Not far from town he began to
whistle and he kept it up purposely as a notification of peaceful and
honorable intentions, until the sharp challenge of a hidden sentry
checked both it and his horse.
"Sheriff Corwin," he answered. "What you holdin' me up for?"
A man stepped out of the cover at the edge of the trail. "Got a
match?" he pleasantly asked, the rifle hanging from the crook of his
arm, both himself and the weapon hidden from the sheriff by the
darkness. "Where you goin' so late? Thought everybody was asleep
but me."
Corwin handed him the match. "Just ridin' down to see McCullough.
Got important business with him, an' reckoned it shouldn't wait 'til
mornin'."
The sentry rolled a cigarette and lit it with the borrowed match in
such a way that the sheriff's face was well lighted for the moment,
but he did not look up. "That's good," he said. "Reckon I'll go along
with you. No use hangin' 'round up here, an' I'm shore sleepy. Wait
till I get my cayuse," and he disappeared, soon returning in the
saddle. His quiet friend in the brush settled back to resume the
watch and to speculate on how long it would take his companion to
return.
McCullough, half undressed, balanced himself as he heard
approaching voices, growled profanely and put the freed leg in the
trousers. He was ready for company when one of the night shift
stuck his head in at the door.
"Sheriff Corwin wants to see you," said the puncher. "His business is
so delicate it might die before mornin'."
"All right," grumbled the trail-boss. "If you get out of his way mebby
he can come in."
Corwin stood in the vacated door, smiling, but too wise to offer his
hand to the blunt, grim host. "Got good news," he said, "for you,
me, an' th' T & C."
"Ya-as?" drawled McCullough, peering out beneath his bushy, gray
eyebrows. "Pecos Kane shoot hisself?"
"We got th' fellers that robbed th' bank an' shot Ridley," said the
sheriff.
"The h—l you say!" exclaimed McCullough. "Come in an' set down.
Who are they? How'd you get 'em?"
"That reward stick?" asked Corwin anxiously.
"Tighter'n a tick to a cow!" emphatically replied the trail-boss. "Who
are they?"
"I got a piece of paper here," said the sheriff, proving his words. He
stepped inside and placed it on the table. "Read it over an' sign it.
Then I'll fill in th' blanks with th' names of th' men. If they're guilty,
I'm protected; if I've made a mistake, then there's no harm done."
McCullough slowly read it aloud:

"'Sheriff Corwin was the first man to tell me that —— and

—— robbed the Mesquite bank, and that —— killed Tom
Ridley. He will produce the prisoners, with the witnesses
and other proof in Sandy Bend upon demand. If they are
found guilty of the crime named the rewards belong to
him.'"

The trail-boss considered it thoughtfully. "It looks fair; but there's

one thing I don't like, Sheriff," he said, putting his finger on the
objectionable words and looking up. "I don't like 'Sandy Bend.' I'm
takin' no chances with them fellers. I'll just scratch that out, an'
write in, 'to me' How 'bout it?"
"They've got to have a fair trial," replied Corwin. "I'm standin' for no
lynchin'. I can't do it."
"Yo're shore right they're goin' to have a fair trial!" retorted the trail-
boss. "Twitchell ain't just lookin' for two men—he wants th' ones that
robbed th' bank an' killed Ridley. You don't suppose he's payin' five
thousan' out of his pocket for somebody that ain't guilty, do you?
Why, they're goin' to have such a fair trial that you'll need all th'
evidence you can get to convict 'em. Lynch 'em?" He laughed
sarcastically. "They won't even be jailed in Sandy Bend, where they
shore would be lynched. You take 'em to Sandy Bend an' you'll be
lynched out of yore reward. You know how it reads."
Corwin scratched his head and a slow grin spread over his face.
"Cuss it, I never saw it that way," he admitted. "I guess yo're
shoutin' gospel, Mac; but, cuss it, it ain't reg'lar."
"You know me; an' I know you," replied the trail-boss, smiling.
"There's lots of little things done that ain't exactly reg'lar; but they're
plumb sensible. Suppose I change this here paper like I said, an'
sign it. Then you write in th' names an' let me read 'em. Then you
let me know what proof you got, an' bring down th' prisoners, an' I'll
sign a receipt for 'em."
"Yes!" exclaimed Corwin. "I'll deputize you, an' give 'em into yore
custody, with orders to take 'em to Sandy Bend, or any other jail
which you think best. That makes it more reg'lar, don't it?" he
smiled.
McCullough laughed heartily and slapped his thigh. "That's shore
more reg'lar. I'm beginnin' to learn why they elected you sheriff. All
right, then; I'm signin' my name." He took pen and ink from a shelf,
made the change in the paper, sprawled his heavy-handed signature
across the bottom and handed the pen to Corwin. "Now, d—n it:
Who are they?"
The sheriff carefully filled in the three blanks, McCullough peering
over his shoulder and noticing that the form had been made out by
another hand.
"There," said Corwin. "I'm spendin' that five thousand right now."
"'Bill Long'—'Red Thompson'—'Bill Long' again," growled the trail-
boss. "Never heard of 'em. Live around here?"
Corwin shook his head. "No."
"All right," grunted McCullough. "Now, then; what proof you got?
You'll never spend a cent of it if you ain't got 'em cold."
Corwin sat on the edge of the table, handed a cigar to his host and
lit his own. "I got a man who was in th' north stable, behind Kane's,
when th' shot that killed Ridley was fired from th' other stable. He
was feedin' his hoss an' looked out through a crack, seein' Long
sneak out of th' other buildin', Sharp's in hand, an' rustle for cover
around to th' gamblin'-hall. Another man was standin' in th' kitchen,
gazin' out of th' winder, an' saw Long turn th' corner of th' north
stable an' dash for th' hotel buildin'. He says he laughed because
Long's slight limp made him sort of bob sideways. An' we know why
Long done it, but we're holdin' that back. That's for th' killin'."
"Now for th' robbery: I got th' man that saw Long an' Thompson
sneak out of th' front door of th' dinin'-room hall into that roarin'
sand storm between eleven an' twelve o'clock on th' night of th'
robbery. He says he remembers it plain because he was plumb
surprised to see sane men do a fool thing like that. He didn't say
nothin' to 'em because if they wanted to commit suicide it was their
own business. Besides, they was strangers to him. After awhile he
went up to bed, but couldn't sleep because of th' storm makin' such
a racket. Kane's upstairs rocked a little that night. I know, because I
was up there, tryin' to sleep."
"Go on," said the trail-boss, eagerly and impatiently, his squinting
eyes not leaving the sheriff's face.
"Well, quite some time later he heard th' door next to his'n open
cautious, but a draft caught it an' slammed it shut. Then Bill Long's
voice said, angry an' sharp: 'What th' h—l you doin', Red? Tellin'
creation about it?' In th' mornin', th' cook, who gets up ahead of
everybody else, of course, was goin' along th' hall toward th' stairs
an' he kicks somethin' close to Long's door. It rustles an' he gropes
for it, curious-like, an' took it downstairs with him for a look at it,
where it wasn't so dark. It was a strip of paper that th' bank puts
around packages of bills, an' there was some figgers on it. He
chucks it in a corner, where it fell down behind some stuff that had
been there a long time, an' don't think no more about it till he hears
about th' bank bein' robbed. Then he fishes it out an' brings it to me.
I knowed what it was, first glance."
"Any more?" urged McCullough. "It's good; but, you got any more?"
"I shore have. What you think I'm sheriff for? I got two of th' bills,
an' their numbers tally with th' bank's numbers of th' missin' money.
You can compare 'em with yore own list later. I sent a deputy to
their rooms as soon as I had 'em in jail, an' he found th' bills sewed
up in their saddle pads. Reckon they was keepin' one apiece in case
they needed money quick. An' when th' sand was swept off th' step
in front of that hall door, a gold piece was picked up out of it."
"When were you told about all this by these fellers?" demanded the
trail-boss.
"As soon as th' robbery was known, an' as soon as th' shootin' of
Ridley was known!"
"When did you arrest them?"
"Last night; an' it was shore one big job. They can fight like a passel
of cougars. Don't take no chances with 'em, Mac."
"Why did you wait till last night?" demanded McCullough. "Wasn't
you scared they'd get away?"
"No. I had 'em trailed every place they went. They wasn't either of
'em out of our sight for a minute; an' when they slept there was
men watchin' th' stairs an' their winders. You see, Kane lost a lot of
money in that robbery, bein' a director; an' I was hopin' they'd try to
sneak off to where they cached it an' give us a chance to locate it.
They was too wise. I got more witnesses, too; but they're Greasers,
an' I ain't puttin' no stock in 'em. A Greaser'd lie his own mother into
her grave for ten dollars; anyhow, most juries down here think so,
so it's all th' same."
"Yes; lyin' for pay is shore a Greaser trick," said McCullough,
nodding. "Well, I reckon it's only a case of waitin' for th' reward,
Sheriff. Tell you what I wish you'd do: Gimme everythin' they own
when you send 'em down to me, or when I come up for 'em,
whichever suits you best. Everythin' has got to be collected now
before it gets lost, an' it's got to be ready for court in case it's
needed."
"All right; I'll get back what I can use, after th' trial," replied Corwin.
"I'll throw their saddles on their cayuses, an' let 'em ride 'em down.
How soon do you want 'em? Right away?"
"First thing in th' mornin'!" snapped McCullough. "Th' sooner th'
better. I'll send up some of th' boys to give you a hand with 'em, or
I'll take 'em off yore hands entirely at th' jail. Which suits you?"
"Send up a couple of yore men, if you want to. It'll look better in
town if I deliver 'em to you here. Why, you ain't smoked yore cigar!"
McCullough looked at him and then at his own hand, staring at the
crushed mass of tobacco in it. "Shucks!" he grunted, apologetically,
and forthwith lied a little himself. "Funny how a man forgets when
he's excited. I bet that cigar thought it was in a vise—my hand's
tired from squeezin'."
"Sorry I ain't got another, Mac," said Corwin, grinning, as he paused
in the door. "I'll be lookin' for yore boys early. Adios."
"Adios," replied McCullough from the door, listening to the dying
hoofbeats going rapidly toward town. Then he shut the door, hurled
the remains of the cigar on the floor and stepped on them. "He's got
'em, huh? An' strangers, too! He's got 'em too d—d pat for me. It
takes a good man to plaster a lie on me an' make it stick—an' he
ain't no good, at all. He was sweatin' before he got through!" Again
the trousers came off, all the way this time, and the lamp was
turned down. As he settled into his bunk he growled again. "Well, I'll
have a look at 'em, anyhow, an' send 'em down for Twitchell to look
at," and in another moment he was asleep.
 CHAPTER XII
FRIENDS ON THE OUTSIDE
While events were working out smoothly for the arrest of the two
men in Kane's gambling-hall, four friends were passing a quiet
evening in Quayle's barroom, but the quiet was not to endure.
With lagging interest in the game Idaho picked up his cards, ruffled
them and listened. "Reckon that's singin'," he said in response to the
noise floating down from the gambling-hall. "Sounds more like a
bunch of cows bawlin' for their calves. Kane's comin' to life later'n
usual. Wonder if Thorpe's joinin' in?" he asked, and burst out
laughing. "Next to our hard-workin' sheriff there ain't nobody in
town that I'd rather see eat dirt than him. Wish I could 'a' seen him
a-climbin' that wall!"
"Annybody that works for Kane eats dirt," commented Quayle. "They
has to. He'll learn how to eat it, too, th' blackguard."
"There goes somethin'," said Ed Doane as the distant roaring ceased
abruptly. "Reckon Thorpe's makin' another try at th' wall." He
laughed softly. "They're startin' a fandango, by th' sound of it."
"'Tis nothin' to th' noise av a good Irish reel," deprecated the
proprietor.
"I'm claimin' low this hand," grunted Idaho. "Look out for yore jack."
Johnny smiled, played and soon a new deal was begun.
"Th' dance is over, too," said Doane, mopping off the bar for the
third time in ten minutes. "Must 'a' been a short one."
"Some of them hombres will dance shorter than that, an' harder,"
grunted Idaho, "th' next time they pay us a visit. They didn't get
many head th' last time, an' I'm sayin' they'll get none at all th' next
time. Where they take 'em to is more'n we can guess: th' tracks just
die. Not bein' able to track 'em, we're aimin' to stop it at th'
beginnin'. You fellers wait, an' you'll see."
Quayle grunted expressively. "I been waitin' too long now. Wonder
why nobody ever set fire to Kane's. 'Twould be a fine sight."
"You'll mebby see that, too, one of these nights," growled the
puncher.
"Then pick out wan when th' wind is blowin' up th' street," chuckled
Quayle. "This buildin' is so dry it itches to burn. I'm surprised it ain't
happened long ago, with that Mick in th' kitchen raisin' th' divvil with
th' stove. If I didn't have a place av me own I'd be tempted to do it
meself."
The bartender laughed shortly. "If McCullough happens to think of it
I reckon it'll be done." He shook out the bar cloth and bunched it
again. "Funny he ain't cut loose yet. That ain't like him, at all."
"Waitin' for th' rewards to start workin', I reckon," said Johnny.
Idaho scraped up the cards, shaped them into a sheersided deck
and pushed it aside. "I'm tired of this game; it's too even. Reckon I'll
go up an' take a look at Kane's." He arose and sauntered out,
paused, and looked up the street. "Cussed if they ain't havin' a pe-
rade," he called. "This ain't th' Fourth of July, is it? I'm goin' up an'
sidle around for a closer look. Be back soon."
Johnny was vaguely perturbed. The sudden cessation of the song
bothered him, and the uproar which instantly followed it only served
to increase his uneasiness. Ordinarily he would not have been
affected, but the day's events might have led to almost anything.
Had a shot been fired he swiftly would have investigated, but the
lack of all shooting quieted his unfounded suspicions. Idaho's remark
about the parade renewed them and after a short, silent argument
with himself he arose, went to the door and looked up the street,
seeing the faint, yellow patch on the sand where Kane's lamps
shown through the open door and struggled against the surrounding
darkness, and hearing the faint rumble of voices above which rang
out frequent laughter. He grimly told himself that there would be no
laughter in Kane's if his two friends had come to any harm, and
there would have been plenty of shooting.
"Annythin' to see?" asked Quayle, poking his head out of the door.
"No," answered Johnny, turning to reenter the building. "Just feelin'
their oats, I reckon."
"'Tis feelin' their ropes they should be doin'," replied Quayle,
stepping back to let his guest pass through. "An' 'twould be fine
humor to swing 'em from their own. Hist!" he warned, listening to
the immoderate laughter which came rapidly nearer. "Here's Idaho;
he'll know it all."
Idaho popped in and in joyous abandon threw his sombrero against
the ceiling. "Funniest thing you ever heard!" he panted. "Corwin's
arrested that Bill Long an' Red Thompson. Took a full dozen to do it,
an' half of 'em are cripples now. Th' pe-rade I saw was Corwin an' a
bunch escortin' 'em over to th' jail. Ain't we got a rip-snortin' fool for
a sheriff?" His levity died swiftly, to give way to slowly rising anger.
"With this country fair crowded with crooks he can't find nobody to
throw in jail except two friendless strangers! D—n his hide, I got a
notion to pry 'em out and turn 'em loose before mornin', just to
make things right, an' take some of th' swellin' out of his flat head.
It's a cussed shame."
The low-pulled brim of Johnny's sombrero hid the glint in his eyes
and the narrowed lids. He relaxed and sat carelessly on the edge of
a table, one leg swinging easily to and fro as conjecture after
conjecture rioted through his mind.
"They must 'a' stepped on Kane's toes," said Ed, vigorously wiping
off the backbar.
Idaho scooped up his hat and flung it on the table at Johnny's side.
"You'd never guess it, Ed. Even th' rest of th' gang was laughin'
about it, all but th' cripples. I been waitin' for them rewards to start
workin,' but I never reckoned they'd work out like this. Long an'
Thompson are holdin' th' sack. They're scapegoats for th' whole
cussed gang. Corwin took 'em in for robbin' th' bank, an' gettin'
Ridley!"
Ed Doane dropped the bar cloth and stared at the speaker and a red
tide crept slowly up his throat and spread across his face. Johnny
slid from the table and disappeared in the direction of his room. He
came down again with the two extra Colts in his hands, slipped
through the kitchen and ran toward the jail. Quayle's mouth slowly
closed and then let out an explosive curse. The bartender brought
his fist down on the bar with a smash.
"Scapegoats? Yo're right! It's a cold deck—an' you bet Kane never
would 'a' dealt from it if he wasn't dead shore he could make th' play
stick. Every man in th' pack will swear accordin' to orders, an' who
can swear th' other way? It'll be a strange jury, down in Sandy Bend,
every man jack of it a friend of Ridley an' th' T & C. Well, I'm a
peaceable man, but this is too much. I never saw them fellers before
in my life; but on th' day when Corwin starts south with 'em I'll be
peaceable no longer—an' I've got friends! There's no tellin' who'll be
next if he makes this stick. Who's with me?"
"I am," said Quayle; "an' I got friends."
"Me, too," cried Idaho. "There's a dozen hickory knots out on th'
ranch that hate Corwin near as much as I do. They'll be with us,
mebby even Lukins, hisself. Hey! Where'd Nelson go?" he excitedly
demanded. "Mebby he's out playin' a lone hand!" and he darted for
the kitchen.
Johnny, hidden in the darkness not far from the jail, was waiting.
The escort, judging from the talk and the glowing ends of cigarettes,
was bunched near the front of the building, little dreaming how close
they stood to a man who held four Colts and was fighting down a
rage which urged their use. At last, thoroughly master of itself,
Johnny's mind turned to craftiness rather than to blind action and
formulated a sketchy plan. But while the plan was being carried
through he would not allow his two old friends to be entirely
helpless. Slipping off his boots he crept up behind the jail and with
his kerchief lowered the two extra guns through the window, softly
calling attention to them, which redoubled the prisoners' efforts to
untie each other. Satisfied now that they were in no immediate
danger he slipped back to his boots, put them on and waited to see
what would happen, and to listen further.
"There ain't no use watchin' th' jail," said a voice, louder than the
rest. "They're tied up proper, an' nobody ever got out of it before."
"Just th' same, you an' Harry will watch it," said Corwin. "Winder an'
door. I ain't takin' no chances with this pair."
A thickening on the dark ground moved forward slowly and a low
voice called Johnny's name. He replied cautiously and soon Idaho
crawled to his side, whispering questions.
"Go back where there ain't no chance of anybody hearin' us, or
stumblin' over us," said Johnny. "When that gang leaves there won't
be so much noise, an' then they may hear us."
At last reaching an old wagon they stood up and leaned against it,
and Johnny unburdened his heart to a man he knew he could trust.
"Idaho," he said, quietly, "them fellers are th' best friends I ever had.
They cussed near raised me, an' they risked their lives more'n once
to save mine. 'Most everythin' I know I got from them, an' they ain't
goin' to stay in that mud hut till mornin', not if I die for it. They
come down here to help me, an' I'm goin' to get 'em out. Did you
ever hear of th' old Bar-20, over in th' Pecos Valley?"
"I shore did," answered Idaho. "Why?"
"I was near raised on it. Bill Long is Hopalong Cassidy, an' Red
Thompson is Red Connors, th' whitest men that ever set a saddle.
Rob a bank, an' shoot a man from behind! Did Bill Long act like a
man that had to shoot in th' back when he made Thorpe climb his
own wall, with his own crowd lookin' on? Most of their lives has been
spent fightin' Kane's kind; an' no breed of pups can hold 'em while
I'm drawin' my breath. It's only how to do it th' best way that's
botherin' me. I've slipped 'em a pair of guns, so I got a little time to
think. Why, cuss it: Hoppy knows th' skunk that got Ridley! An'
before we're through we'll know who robbed th' bank, an' hand 'em
over to Mac. That's what's keepin' th' three of us here!"
"Bless my gran'mother's old gray cat!" breathed Idaho. "No wonder
they pulled th' string! I'm sayin' Kane's got hard ridin' ahead. Say,
can I tell th' boys at th' ranch?"
"Tell 'em nothin' that you wouldn't know except for me tellin' you,"
replied Johnny. "I know they're good boys; but they might let it slip.
Me an' Hoppy an' Red are aimin' for them rewards—an' we're goin'
to get 'em both."
"It's a plumb lovely night," muttered Idaho. "Nicest night I think I
ever saw. I don't want no rewards, but I just got to get my itchin'
paws into what's goin' on around this town. An' it's a lovely town.
Nicest town I think I ever was in. That 'dobe shack ain't what it once
was. I know, because, not bein' friendly with th' sheriff, an' not bein'
able to look all directions at once, I figgered I might be in it, myself,
some day. So I've looked it over good, inside an' out. Th' walls are
crumbly, an' th' bars in th' window are old. There's a waggin tongue
in Pete Jarvis' freight waggin that's near twelve foot long, an' a-
plenty thick. Ash, I think it is; that or oak. Either's good enough. If it
was shoved between th' bars an' then pushed sideways that jail
wouldn't be a jail no more. If Pete ain't taken th' waggin to bed with
him, bein' so proud of it, we can crack that little hazelnut. I'm goin'
back an' see how many are still hangin' around."
"I'm goin' back to th' hotel, so I'll be seen there," said Johnny.
"I'll do th' same, later," replied his friend as they separated.
Quayle was getting rid of some of his accumulated anger, which
reflection had caused to soar up near the danger point. "Tom Ridley
wasn't killed by no strangers!" he growled, banging the table with
his fist. "I can name th' man that done it by callin' th' roll av Kane's
litter; an' I'll be namin' th' bank robbers in th' same breath." He
looked around as Johnny entered the room. "An' what did ye find,
lad?"
"Idaho was right. They've got 'em in th' jail."
"An' if I was as young a man as you," said the proprietor, "they
wouldn't kape 'em there. As ut is I'm timpted to go up an' bust in th'
dommed door, before th' sheriff comes back from his ride. Tom
Ridley's murderer? Bah!"
"Back from his ride?" questioned Johnny, quickly and eagerly.
"Shure. He just wint down th' trail. Tellin' Mac, I don't doubt that
he's got th' men Twitchell wants. I was lookin' around when he wint
past. This is th' time, lad. I'll help ye by settin' fire to Red Frank's
corral if th' jail's watched. It'll take their attention. Or I'll lug me rifle
up an' cover ye while ye work." He arose and went into the office for
the weapon, Johnny following him. "There she is—full to th' ind. An'
I know her purty ways."
"Tim," said Johnny's low voice over his shoulder. "Yo're white, clean
through. I don't need yore help, anyhow, not right now. An' because
you are white I'm goin' to tell you somethin' that'll please you, an'
give me one more good friend in this rotten town. Bill Long an' Red
Thompson are friends of mine. They did not rob th' bank, nor shoot
Ridley; but Bill knows who did shoot Ridley. He saw him climbin' out
of Kane's south stable while th' smoke was still comin' from th' gun
that shot yore friend. I can put my hand on th' coyote in five
minutes. Th' three of us are stayin' here to get that man, th' man
who robbed th' bank, an' Pecos Kane. I'm tellin' you this because I
may need a good friend in Mesquite before we're through."
Quayle had wheeled and gripped his shoulder with convulsive force.
"Ah!" he breathed. "Come on, lad; point him out! Point him out for
Tim Quayle, like th' good lad ye are!"
"Do you want him so bad that yo're willin' to let th' real killer get
away?" asked Johnny. "You only have to wait an' we'll get both."
"What d'ye mean?"
"You don't believe he shot Ridley without bein' told to do it, do you?"
"Kane told him; I know it as plain as I know my name."
"Knowin' ain't provin' it, an' provin' it is what we got to do."
"'Tis th' curse av th' Irish, jumpin' first an' thinkin' after," growled
Quayle. "Go wan!"
"Yo're friends with McCullough," said Johnny. "Mac knows a little; an'
I'm near certain he's heard of Hopalong Cassidy an' Red Connors, of
th' Bar-20. Don't forget th' names: Hopalong Cassidy an' Red
Connors, of th' old Bar-20 in th' Pecos Valley. Buck Peters was
foreman. I want you to go down an' pay him a friendly visit, and tell
him this," and Quayle listened intently to the message.
"Bye," chuckled the proprietor, "ye leave Mac to me. We been friends
for years, an' Tom Ridley was th' friend of us both. But, lad, ye may
die; an' Bill Long may die—life is uncertain annywhere, an' more so
in Mesquite, these days. If yer a friend av Tim Quayle, slip me th'
name av th' man that murdered Ridley. I promise ye to kape han's
off—an' I want no reward. But it fair sickens me to think his name
may be lost. Tom was like a brother."
"If you knew th' man you couldn't hold back," replied Johnny. "Here:
I'll tell Idaho, an' Ed Doane. If Bill an' I go under they'll give you his
description. I don't know his name."
"Th' offer is a good wan; but Tim Quayle never broke his word to
anny man an' there's nothin' on earth or in hiven I want so much as
to know who murdered Tom Ridley. I pass ye my word with th' sign
av th' cross, on th' witness of th' Holy Virgin, an' on th' mem'ry av
Tom Ridley—I'll stay me hand accordin' to me promise."
Johnny looked deeply into the faded blue eyes through the tears
which filmed them. He gripped the proprietor's hand and leaned
closer. "A Greaser with a pock-marked face, an' a crescent-shaped
scar over his right eye. He is about my height an' drags one foot
slightly when he walks."
"Aye, from th' ball an' chain!" muttered Quayle. "I know th' scut!
Thank ye, lad: I can sleep better nights. An' I can wait as no
Irishman ever waited before. Annythin' Tim Quayle has is yourn;
yourn an' yore friends. I'll see Mac tomorrow. Good night." He
cuddled the rifle and went toward the stairs, but as he put his foot
on the first step he stopped, turned, and went to a chair in a corner.
"I'm forgettin'," he said, simply. "Ye may need me," and he leaned
back against the wall, closing his eyes, an expression of peace on his
wrinkled face.
 CHAPTER XIII
OUT AND AWAY
Idaho slipped out of the darkness of the kitchen and appeared in the
door. "All right, Nelson," he called. "There's two on guard an' th' rest
have left. They ain't takin' their job any too serious, neither. Just one
apiece," he chuckled.
Johnny looked at the proprietor. "Got any rope, Tim?" he asked.
"Plenty," answered Quayle, arising hastily and leading the way
toward the kitchen. Supplying their need he stood in the door and
peered into the darkness after them. "Good luck, byes," he
muttered.
Pete Jarvis was proud of his new sixteen-foot freighter and he must
have turned in his sleep when two figures, masked to the eyes by
handkerchiefs, stole into his yard and went off with the heavy wagon
tongue. They carried it up to the old wagon near the jail, where they
put it down, removed their boots, and went on without it, reaching
the rear wall of the jail without incident, where they crouched, one
at each corner, and smiled at the conversation going on.
"I'm hopin' for a look at yore faces," said Red's voice, "to see what
they looked like before I get through with 'em, if I ever get my
chance. Come in, an' be sociable."
"Yo're doin' a lot of talkin' now, you red-headed coyote," came the
jeering reply. "But how are you goin' to talk to th' judge?"
"Bring some clean straw in th' mornin'," said Bill Long, "or we'll bust
yore necks. Manure's all right for Greasers, an' you, but we're white
men. Hear me chirp, you mangy pups?"
"It's good enough for you!" snapped a guard. "I was goin' to get you
some, but now you can rot, for all I care!"
Johnny backed under the window, raised up and pressed his face
against the rusty bars. "It's th' Kid," he whispered. "Are you untied
yet?"
The soft answer pleased him and he went back to his corner of the
wall, where he grudged every passing minute. He had decided to
wait no longer, but to risk the noise of a shot if the unsuspecting
guards could get a gun out quickly enough, and he was about to tell
Idaho of the change in the plans when the words of a guard checked
him.
"Guess I'll walk around again," said one of them, arising slowly.
"Gettin' cramped, an' sleepy, settin' here."
"You spit in that window again an' I'll bust yore neck!" said Red's
angry voice, whereupon Johnny found a new pleasure in doing his
duty.
"You ain't bustin' nobody, or nothin'," jeered the guard, "'less it's th'
rope yo're goin' to drop on." He yawned and stretched and
sauntered along the side of the building, turned the corner and then
raised his hands with a jerk as a Colt pushed into his stomach and a
hard voice whispered terse instructions, which he instantly obeyed.
"You fellers ain't so bad, at that," he said, with only a slight change
in his voice; "but yo're shore playin' in hard luck."
"Keep yore sympathy to yoreself!" angrily retorted Bill Long.
Idaho, having unbuckled the gun-belt and laid it gently on the
ground, swiftly pulled the victim's arms down behind his back and
tied the crossed wrists. Johnny now got busy with ropes for his feet,
and a gag, and they soon laid him close to the base of the wall, and
crept toward the front of the building, one to each wall. Johnny
tensed himself as Idaho sauntered around the other corner.
"Makin' up with 'em?" asked the guard, ironically. "You don't want to
let 'em throw a scare into you. They'll never harm nobody no more."
He lazily arose to stretch his legs on a turn around the building. "You
listen to what I'm goin' to tell 'em," he said. Then he squawked and
went down with Johnny on his back, Idaho's dive coming a second
later. A blow on his head caused him to lose any impertinent interest
which he might have had in subsequent events and soon he, too, lay
along the base of the rear wall, bound, gagged, and helpless.
"I near could feel th' jar of that in here," said Red's cheerful voice.
"I'm hopin' it was th' coyote that spit through th' window. What's
next?" he asked, on his feet and pulling at bars. He received no
answer and commented upon that fact frankly and profusely.
"Shut yore face," growled Bill, working at his side. "He's hatchin'
somethin' under his hat."
"Somethin' hatchin' all over me," grunted Red, stirring restlessly.
"I'm a heap surprised this old mud hut ain't walkin' off some'ers."
Bill squirmed. "You ain't got no call to put on no airs," he retorted.
"Mine's been hatched a long time. I wouldn't let a dog lay on straw
as rotten as that stuff. Oh!" he gloated. "Somebody's shore goin' to
pay for this little party!"
"Wish th' sheriff would open that outside door about now," chuckled
Red, balancing his six-chambered gift "I'd make him pop-eyed."
Hurrying feet, booted now, came rapidly nearer and soon the
square-cornered end of a seasoned wagon tongue scraped on the
adobe window ledge. Bill Long grabbed it and drew it between two
of the bars.
"Go toward th' south," he said. "That's th' boy! Listen to 'em scrape!"
he exulted. "Go ahead—she's startin'. I can feel th' 'dobe crackin'
between th' bars. Come back an' take th' next—you'll have a little
better swing because it's further from th' edge of th' window. Go
ahead! It's bendin' an' pullin' out at both ends. Go on! Whoop! There
goes th' 'dobe. Come back to th' middle an' use that pry as a
batterin'-ram on this bar. Steady; we'll do th' guidin'. All ready? Then
let her go! Fine! Try again. That's th' stuff—she's gone! Take th'
next. Ready? Let her go! There goes more 'dobe, on this side. Once
more: Ready? Let her go! Good enough: Here we come."
"Wait," said Johnny. "We'll pass one of these fellers in to you. If we
leave 'em both together they'll mebby roll together an' untie each
other."
"Like we did," chuckled Red.
"Give us th' first one you got," said Bill. "He's th' one that spit
through th' window. I want him to lay on this straw, too. He's tied,
an' can't scratch."
The guard was raised to the window, pushed and pulled through it
and carelessly dumped on Red's bed, after which it did not take long
for the two prisoners to gain their freedom.
"Good Kid!" said Bill, gripping his friend's hand. "An' you, too,
whoever you are!"
"Don't mention no names," whispered Idaho. "We couldn't find no
ear plugs," he chuckled, shaking hands with Red. "I'm too well
known in this town. What'll we do with this coyote? Let him lay
here?"
"No," answered Johnny. "He might roll over to Red Frank's an' get
help. Picket him to a bush or cactus. Here, gimme a hand with him. I
reckon he's come to, by th' way he's bracin' hisself. Little faster—
time's flyin'. All right, put him down." Johnny busied himself with the
last piece of rope and stood up. "Come on—Kane's stables, next."
As they crossed the street above the gambling-house, where in
reality it was a trail, Bill Long took a hand in the evening's plans.
"Red," he said, "you go an' get our cayuses. Bring 'em right here,
where we are now, an' wait for us. Idaho, you an' Johnny come with
me an' stand under th' window of my room to take th' things I let
down, an' free th' rope from 'em. I'm cussed shore we ain't goin' to
leave all of our traps behind, not unless they been stole."
"I like yore cussed nerve!" chuckled Idaho. "Don't blame you,
though. I'm ready."
"His nerve's just plain gall!" snapped Red, turning to Hopalong.
"Think yo're sendin' me off to get a couple of cayuses, while yo're
runnin' that risk in there? Get th' cayuses yoreself; I'll get th' fixin's!"
"Don't waste time like this!" growled Johnny. "Do as yo're told, you
red-headed wart! Corwin will shore go to th' jail before he turns in.
Come on, Hoppy."
"That name sounds good again," chuckled Hopalong, giving Red a
shove toward the stables. "Get them cayuses, Carrot-Top!"
Red obeyed, but took it out in talking to himself as he went along,
and as he entered the north stable he stepped on something large
and soft, which instantly went into action. Red dropped to his knees
and clinched, getting both wrists in his hands. Being in a hurry, and
afraid of any outcry, he could not indulge in niceties, so he brought
one knee up and planted it forcefully in his enemy's stomach, threw
his weight on it and jumped up and down. Sliding his hands down
the wrists, one at a time, he found the knife and took it from the
relaxing fingers. Then he felt for the victim's jaw with one hand and
hit it with the other. Arising, he hummed a tune and soon led out the
two horses.
"Don't like to leave th' others for them fellers to use," he growled,
and forthwith decided not to leave them. He drove them out of both
stables, mounted his own, led Hopalong's, and slowly herded the
other dozen ahead of him over the soft sand and away. When he
finally reached the agreed-upon meeting place he reflected with
pleasure that anyone wishing to use those horses for the purpose of
pursuit, or any other purpose, would first have to find, and then
catch them. They were going strong when he had last heard them.
Idaho had stopped under the window pointed out to him, and his
two companions, leaving their boots in his tender care, were
swallowed up in the darkness. They opened the squeaking front
door, cautiously climbed the squeaking stairs and fairly oozed over
the floor of the upper hall, which wanted to squeak, and did so a
very little. Hopalong slowly opened the door of his room, thankful
that he had oiled its one musical hinge, and felt cautiously over the
bed. It was empty, and his sigh of relief was audible. And he was
further relieved when his groping hand found his possessions where
he had left them. He was stooping to loosen the coil of rope at the
pommel of his saddle when he heard a sleepy, inquiring voice and a
soft thud, and anxiously slipped to the door.
"Kid!" he whispered. "Kid!"
"Shut yore fool face," replied the object of his solicitude, striking a
match for one quick glance around. The room was strange to him,
since he never had been in it before, and he had to get his bearings.
The inert man on the bed did not get a second glance, for the sound
and weight of the blow had reassured Johnny. There were two
saddles, two rifles, two of everything, which was distressing under
the circumstances.
Hopalong had just lowered his own saddle to the waiting Idaho
when the catlike Johnny entered the room with a saddle and a rifle.
He placed them on the bed, where they would make no noise, and
departed, catlike. Soon returning he placed another saddle and rifle
on the bed and departed once more.