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ninth edition
The Police
in America
an introduction
Samuel Walker | Charles M. Katz
Ninth Edition
The Police
in America
an introduction
Samuel Walker
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Charles M. Katz
Arizona State University
THE POLICE IN AMERICA: AN INTRODUCTION, NINTH EDITION
Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright © 2018 by
McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Previous editions
© 2011, 2008, and 2005. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by
any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill
Education, including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or
broadcast for distance learning.
Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside
the United States.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LCR 21 20 19 18
ISBN 978-1-259-14076-1
MHID 1-259-14076-8
The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a
website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw-Hill
Education does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
mheducation.com/highered
About the Authors
Charles Katz Dr. Charles Katz is the Watts Family Director of the Center for Violence
Prevention and Community Safety and is a Professor in the School of Criminology and
Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. Dr. Katz earned his Ph.D. in Criminal Justice
from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1997. He is coauthor of Policing Gangs in
America (published by Cambridge University Press) and numerous articles on policing and
gangs. He is currently working with several large metropolitan police agencies evaluating
programs and practices.
iii
Contents in Brief
Preface XVI
P A R T
I Foundations 1
1 Police and Society 2
2 The History of the American Police 28
3 The Contemporary Law Enforcement Industry 70
P A R T
II Officers and Organizations 101
4 Police Organizations 102
5 Police Officers I: Recruitment and Training for
a Changing Society 130
6 Police Officers II: On the Job 166
P A R T
III Police Work 211
7 Patrol: The Backbone of Policing 212
8 Peacekeeping and Order Maintenance 250
9 The Police and Crime 282
10 Advances in Police Strategy 324
P A R T
IV Issues in Policing 367
11 Police Discretion 368
12 Legitimacy and Police–Community Relations 404
13 Police Corruption 454
14 Accountability of the Police 488
P A R T
V Challenges for a New Century 543
15 The Future of Policing in America 544
iv
Contents
Preface XVI
P A R T
I Foundations 1
C H A P T E R 1 A Special Case: The Police and Juveniles 23
v
vi Contents
P A R T
II Officers and Organizations 101
C H A P T E R 4 C H A P T E R 5
Police Organizations 102 Police Officers I: Recruitment and
The Quasi-Military Style of Police Training for a Changing Society 130
Organizations 103 The Changing American Police Officer 131
Criticisms of the Quasi-Military Style 103 What Kind of Police Officer Do We Want? And for
Police Departments as What Kind of Policing? 131
Organizations 105 The Police Personnel Process 132
The Dominant Style of American Police A Career Perspective 133
Organizations 105 Beyond Stereotypes of Cops 133
Police Organizations as Bureaucracies 105 The Personnel Process: A Shared Responsibility 134
The Problems with Bureaucracy 108 Recruiting Police Officers 134
The Positive Contributions of Bureaucracy What Kind of Job? What Kind of Person? 135
in Policing 108
Minimum Qualifications 135
Informal Aspects of Police Organizations 108 The Recruitment Effort 139
Bureaucracy and Police Professionalism 110 Choosing Law Enforcement as a Career 139
Changing Police Organizations 110 Applicants’ Motivations 139
Community Policing 110 Obstacles to Recruitment 140
Task Forces 112 Testing and Selecting Applicants 141
COMPSTAT 113 Selection Tests 141
Civil Service 115 Background Investigations 142
Police Unions 116 Predicting Police Officer Performance 142
Aspects of Police Unions 116 Achieving Diversity in Police Employment 143
Collective Bargaining 117 The Goals of Diversity 143
Grievance Procedures 117 The Law of Equal Employment Opportunity 144
Impasse Settlement and Strikes 117 “Not Your Father’s Police Department”: Diversity
in Policing 144
The Impact of Police Unions 120
Women in Policing 146
Police Organizations and Their Employment Discrimination Suits 147
Environment 122
The Impact of Increased Diversity 149
Contingency Theory 122
Police Training: Progress and New Challenges 149
Institutional Theory 122
New Thinking about Policing and Training 150
Resource Dependency Theory 123
The Police Academy 150
CASE STUDY: COMPSTAT in Chicago 124 Training on the Use of Force 152
Summary 125 Tactical Decision-Making 153
Key Terms 125 Scenario-Based Training 153
For Discussion 125 Fragmented and Inconsistent Training 154
Internet Exercises 126 The Consequences of Inadequate Training 154
viii Contents
Training on Unconscious Bias 155 African American Officers on the Job 183
Training on Procedural Justice 155 Hispanic Officers 183
Field Training 155 Gay and Lesbian Officers 184
In-Service Training 156 The Intersection of Gender, Race, Ethnicity,
Training of Supervisors 157 and Sexual Identity 185
New Perspectives on a Complex and Changing Job Stress and Suicide 198
Police Subculture 178 Community Policing and Job Satisfaction 199
The Changing Rank and File: The Impact Coping with Job Stress 200
of Diversity 179 The Rights of Police Officers 200
The Impact of Women Police Officers on the
Police Subculture 179
Turnover: Leaving Police Work 202
Women Officers on Patrol Duty 181 Decertification 203
Female versus Male Officers: Differences in Summary 203
Misconduct Issues 181 Key Terms 204
Sexual Harassment on the Job 182 For Discussion 204
African American Officers 182 Internet Exercise 204
Contents ix
P A R T
III Police Work 211
C H A P T E R 7 Findings and Implications of the Kansas
Patrol: The Backbone of Policing 212 City Experiment 235
The Central Role of Patrol 213 The Newark Foot Patrol Experiment 236
The Organization and Delivery of Patrol 214 Improving Traditional Patrol 237
Factors Affecting the Delivery of Patrol Services 214 Differential Response to Calls 237
Number of Sworn Officers 214 Telephone Reporting Units 238
Assignment to Patrol 216 311 Nonemergency Numbers 238
The Distribution of Patrol Officers 216
Non-English 911 Call Services 239
Assignment of Patrol Officers 218
Reverse 911 239
“Hot Spots” 218
Computers and Video Cameras in Patrol Cars 239
Types of Patrol 218
Foot Patrol 219 Police Aides or Cadets 240
One-Officer versus Two-Officer Cars 219 Directed Patrol and Hot Spots 241
Staffing Patrol Beats 220 Customer Feedback 242
Styles of Patrol 220 Beyond Traditional Patrol 242
Individual Styles 220 CASE STUDY: The Philadelphia Foot Patrol Experiment
Supervisors’ Styles 221 by Jerry Ratcliffe et al. 242
Organizational Styles 221 Summary 244
Patrol Supervision: The Role of Key Terms 245
the Sergeant 222
For Discussion 245
The Communications Center 223
The Nerve Center of Policing 223 Internet Exercises 245
911 Systems 223
Processing Calls for Service 224
Operator–Citizen Interactions 226
C H A P T E R 8
The Systematic Study of Police Patrol 226
Peacekeeping and Order
Standards for Systematic Social Observation 226
Maintenance 250
The Call Service Workload 228 The Police Role 251
The Volume of Calls 228 Calling the Police 252
Types of Calls 228 Public Expectations 252
Aspects of Patrol Work 230 Police Response 252
Response Time 230
Traffic Enforcement 253
Officer Use of Patrol Time 231
Drunk-Driving Crackdowns 255
Evading Duty 232
High-Speed Pursuits 232 Policing Domestic Disputes 256
The Effectiveness of Patrol 233 Defining Our Terms 256
Initial Experiments 233 The Prevalence of Domestic Violence 257
The Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment 234 Calling the Police 257
x Contents
P A R T
IV Issues in Policing 367
C H A P T E R 11 A Richer Understanding of Police–Citizen
Police Discretion 368 Encounters 371
Factors Influencing Discretionary Arrest Public Opinion about the Police 411
Decisions 380 Factors that Affect Public Opinion about
Situational Factors 380 the Police 411
Organizational Factors 384 The Impact of Controversial Incidents 414
Special Training over Race and Ethnicity 445 Proactive Integrity Tests 475
Accountability for What the Police Do 491 The Effectiveness of an EIS 511
The Traditional Approach to Measuring Police Risk Management and Police Legal Advisors 511
Effectiveness 491 Accreditation for Law Enforcement
Alternative Measures and Their Limitations 492 Agencies 512
COMPSTAT: A Neighborhood-Focused Approach 494 The Nature of Accreditation 512
Accountability for How the Police Do Pros and Cons of Accreditation 513
Their Job 494 External Mechanisms of Accountability 513
Internal Mechanisms of Accountability 495 Guiding the Police through the Political Process 513
Routine Supervision of Patrol Officers 495 The Courts and the Police 514
Coaching, Mentoring, Leading, and Helping 498 Federal “Pattern or Practice” Suits 518
Organizational Culture and Accountability 498 The Collaborative Reform Approach: An Alternative
Command-Level Review of Force Incidents: to Litigation 522
The Emerging Standard 499 Injunctions to Stop Patterns of Police
Corrective Action: Informal and Formal 500 Misconduct 423
Performance Evaluations 500 Criminal Prosecution of Police Officers 523
Internal Affairs/Professional Standards Citizen Oversight of the Police 524
Units 501 Blue-Ribbon Commissions 527
The Discipline Process 502 The Digital Revolution and Police Accountability 527
Appropriate Levels of Discipline 503 The News Media as a Police Accountability
Openness and Transparency for Disciplinary Mechanism 528
Actions 504 Public Interest Groups and Accountability 529
Standards for Investigating Citizen Complaints 504 Accountability and Crime Control: A Trade-Off? 530
Using Discipline Records in Personnel Decisions 505
Conclusion: A Mixed Approach to Police
The “Code of Silence” 505 Accountability 531
Early Intervention Systems 506 CASE STUDY: Policing Los Angeles under a Consent
Officers with Performance Problems 506 Decree: The Dynamics of Change at the LAPD:
The Nature and Purpose of an EIS 507 Executive Summary 532
Performance Indicators and Thresholds 507 Summary 533
Interventions for Officers 509 Key Terms 534
The Multiple Goals of an EIS 510 Internet Exercises 534
P A R T
V Challenges for a New Century 543
C H A P T E R 15 Crime Analysis 554
The Future of Policing Types of Crime Analysis 554
in America 544 Crime Mapping 555
Police Technology 545 The Outlook for Police
Major Technology Applications 545 Employment 556
The Use of Technology in the Field 548 Opportunities in Local, County, and State
The Future of Police Information Technology 552 Law Enforcement 557
Technologically Advanced Weapons 553 Local, County, and State Salaries 558
Contents xv
Preface
∙ Chapter 10, “Advances in Police Strategy” has been revised to include new
perspectives on the goals and effectiveness of recent police innovations.
∙ Chapter 11, “Police Discretion,” was revised to include new perspectives on the
complexity of officer exercise of discretion.
∙ Chapter 12, “Legitimacy and Police-Community Relations,” has been revised
to incorporate the new interest in and reforms related to legitimacy because of
the national police crisis, 2014–2016.
∙ Chapter 13, “Police Corruption,” has been revised to incorporate new
perspectives and research on police corruption.
∙ Chapter 14, “Accountability of the Police,” has been extensively revised to
include material and the full range of both internal and external
accountability mechanisms.
∙ Chapter 15, “The Future of Policing in America,” has been updated to include
discussions of the latest developments related to technology, employment, po-
lice research and terrorism.
Special emphasis is placed on race and ethnicity and its implications for policing in
the United States. This section includes chapters on police corruption and police
accountability, which discuss different types of police misbehavior and the strategies
used to hold the police accountable.
Part V, “Challenges for a New Century,” concludes the book with a chapter on
the future of policing in America.
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xxii Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
Samuel Walker would like to thank his colleagues and friends in the world of polic-
ing and police accountability in particular. Special thanks go to former student and
now friend and professional colleague Charles Katz for being a great coauthor.
Charles did the bulk of the work on this, the ninth edition, and Sam is very apprecia-
tive of that.
Charles Katz would like to thank the many people who have contributed to the
completion of this edition and to acknowledge his colleagues at Arizona State Uni-
versity, who have always been supportive and who have been willing to lend a helpful
hand when asked. Special thanks, too, to four people in particular: to Charles’s par-
ents and his wife Keri, who have always been loving and supportive (this book, and
his other work, is just as much a result of their dedication and efforts as his own), and
to his coauthor Sam Walker. Sam has always been supportive, whether it be profes-
sionally or personally, and his insights continue to influence Charles today.
Samuel Walker
Charles M. Katz
P A R T
Foundations
C H A P T E R 1 Police and Society
C H A P T E R 2 The History of the American Police
C H A P T E R 3 The Contemporary Law Enforcement Industry
1
1
© David Frazier/Getty Images
C H A P T E R
idea of “fighting crime” is complex. Which crimes? There is an old cliché that says, “if
the police enforced all the laws on the books, we would all be in jail.”
The police solve this dilemma by using their discretion not to enforce all the
laws all the time. People stopped by an officer while driving are often let go with a
warning, even though they were speeding. But do the police make good decisions
when not enforcing the law? There are no easy answers to this question. We examine
police discretion in detail in Chapter 11.
3
4 Part I Foundations
A Democratic Police
The United States is a democracy, which means that the people ultimately control the
agencies of government. This includes the police. In totalitarian societies, the people
have no control over law enforcement agencies. If they are not happy with what the
police are doing, there is nothing they can do about it. Police in totalitarian societies
are also not governed by the rule of law; they only follow the dictates of the supreme
ruler. Democracy and the police means that the police are both answerable to the democracy and the
people and accountable to the rule of law. police
In the United States, mayors appoint police chiefs, and city councils provide
the budget. Governors appoint the head of state police agencies, and state legislators
appropriate their budgets. The president of the United States appoints the directors of
federal law enforcement agencies: the directors of the FBI and the DEA, and all the
other federal agencies. Congress appropriates their budgets.
The political control of the police, while an essential part of democracy, raises For a discussion of
a number of difficult problems. For many years in history, elected officials used the the history of politics
and the police, see
police for personal or political benefit, appointing their friends as police officers and Chapter 2.
using the police to protect illegal drinking and gambling (see Chapter 2). We call that
“politics.”5 Making sure that the police are responsive to the public but are not used
for improper purposes is a major challenge for the American police.
The President’s Task Force made a number of recommendations to ensure that
the police are responsive to the people they serve. These recommendations include
holding regular public meetings with residents of the community (Recommendation
4.5.1); conducting surveys of the public they serve (Recommendation 1.7); making
official policies and procedures publicly available, on their websites; and establish-
ing some form of civilian (citizen) oversight of the police (Recommendation 2.8).
A Legitimate Police
legitimacy The police in a democracy need to be legitimate.8 Legitimacy means more than just
the police following the rule of law. It means that the people they serve have trust and
confidence in them: trust that comes from respectful treatment; trust that the police are
conducting themselves in a lawful manner; and confidence that they are controlling
Chapter 1 Police and Society 7
crime and disorder effectively. The President’s Task Force recommended that “[l]aw
enforcement culture should embrace a guardian mindset to build public trust and
legitimacy. Toward that end, police and sheriff’s departments should adopt proce-
dural justice as the guiding principle for internal and external policies and practices
to guide their interactions with citizens they serve” (Recommendation 1.1).
The “guardian” mindset is the opposite of the “warrior” mindset, in which
police officers see their work as combat and too often view members of the public as
the “enemy.” When the police view people as the enemy, they are less likely to be
responsive to their needs and more likely to use force when it is not necessary. Sue
Rahr, a member of the President’s Task Force, explained that in 2012 her staff at the
Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission “began asking the ques-
tion, ‘Why are we training police officers like soldiers?’” Even though police offi-
cers wear uniforms and are authorized to use firearms, they have very different roles.
Rahr further explained that “[t]he soldier’s mission is that of a warrior: to conquer.
The rules of engagement are decided before the battle. The police officer’s mission
is that of a guardian: to protect. The rules of engagement evolve as the incident un-
folds. Soldiers must follow orders. Police officers must make independent decisions.
Soldiers come into communities as an outside, occupying force. Guardians are mem-
bers of the community, protecting from within.”9
Rahr’s observation touches on all of the issues we discuss in this chapter. A
guardian mindset involves cultivating trust and legitimacy in the police, being open
and transparent about police activities, holding both the organization and individual
officers accountable, and, finally, adopting the recognized best practices from around
the country in order to be effective in controlling crime and maintaining order.
Procedural Justice
Procedural justice is now recognized as an essential guiding principle for good procedural justice
policing. The theory of procedural justice developed out of the field of social
psychology. It holds that, for example, in dealing with an organization, people are
concerned not just with what happens to them but also with how they are treated. In
policing, this means the difference between getting a traffic ticket (the substantive
outcome) and how the officer acted: for example, being rude, being polite, not
answering the person’s questions, explaining the reason for the stop, and so on.
Research consistently finds that people notice how they are treated by police officers
and that it makes a difference to them. In Chicago, Wesley Skogan found that
80 percent of whites expressed a “favorable” attitude about whether the police “clearly
explained why they wanted to talk with them,” but only 48 percent of African Americans
and 63 percent of English-speaking Hispanics expressed a similar attitude.10 Not
only do people notice and remember how the police treat them, but there are large
racial and ethnic gaps in those perceptions. We examine the legitimacy of the police
further in Chapter 12.
Tom Tyler’s research has found that when people have a sense of procedural
justice, they are more likely to obey the law.11 Consequently, the President’s Task
Force concluded that “[d]ecades of research and practice support the premise that
people are more likely to obey the law when they believe that those who are enforc-
ing it have authority that is perceived as legitimate by those subject to the authority.
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So teen mekaar aangedruk, soos reisigers deur ’n onweer
bedreig, smaak hulle nog die geluk van hul laaste samesyn, tot die
droewige afskeidsure aanbreek.
Jan en Paula slaap nog toe mevrou Kibert stilletjies uitgaan om by
haar God die hoogste krag te gaan soek wat sy netnou nodig sal kry.
So sit sy dan in die kerk. Sy het meer behoefte aan moed as aan
kalmte. Voor die uur van smarte slaan, soek sy krag en geduld by
Hom Wat alle menslike ellende gedra het sonder kla.
Mevrou Kibert sit ’n bietjie apart in ’n donker hoekie, verlore in
haar eie oordenkinge. In gedagte gaan sy die laaste jare van haar
lewe weer oor, en vind soveel om die Heer voor te dank. Het Hy haar
nie die seën geskenk waar sy so lank met besorgdheid om gesmeek
het nie—die geluk van haar dogter? Paula, haar eie Paulatjie—sy
het haar wel nie die liefste van al haar kinders nie, maar sy is die
sagste, en was haar steun in die beproewinge van haar oudag; hoe
dikwels het sy nie die Here Se seën op haar afgesmeek nie, want op
Paula veral het die verdriet van die famielie neergekom! En om haar
dogter nou die afgebede seën te skenk, verskeur die Heer die hart
van die moeder. Maar dewyl die Heer dit nou vir so’n prys wil doen,
hoe sou sy so laf kan wees om te murmureer teen Sy wil en
weldaad, hoe kan sy dit regkry om die eensaamheid te verwens wat
sy vanaand sal ingaan soos in ’n vroegtydige dood? En sy sê in haar
gebed:
—Nee, nee, ek sal myself nie beklaag nie; ons is tog maar te gou
om soiets te doen tot verontskuldiging van ons swakheid. My God, U
ondersteun my in my behoefte. Vanaand wil ek sterk wees. Hulle sal
my nie sien ween nie. Ek sou tog nie met hulle kan saamgaan nie. U
het my gewaarsku dat my kragte uitgeput is; en dan, my werk is
gedaan. My kinders sal dit voortsit beter as ek kan. Ek dank U dat U
my, in U goedheid, nog die geluk van my dogter laat sien het. Ek dra
haar op aan U beskerming gedurende die lang seereis, en ook haar
man, wat ook my kind geword het . . . . Ek dra ook aan U hoede op,
my God, ’n ander lewentjie wat nog in duisternis en onsekerheid
verkeer, die lewentjie van ’n klein wesentjie wat nog moet kom, wat
my oë nooit sal sien nie, wat my hande nie sal verwelkom in die
wêreld nie. Gee daaraan ook gesondheid, verstand, wilskrag, en
onderwerping aan U heilige wil. Gee hom ’n lang lewe, opdat hy U
lank en goed kan dien. Laat hom volhardend en sterk wees in wat
goed is; laat hom nie bang wees om te lag nòg om te ween nie; laat
hom werklustig wees; en laat hom word vir sy moeder wat sy vir my
gewees het . . . .
As mevrou Kibert haar hoof ophef van haar hande, waarop sy
vooroor geleun het, sien sy dat die priester klaar is om die diens te
sluit. Sy verwyt haar dat sy nie na die preek of gesang geluister het
nie. Maar sy vind dat sy in haar gebed die kalmte en vrede gevind
het wat sy kom soek het.
Die mense staan op van hul sitplekke en verlaat langsaam die
kerk. Mevrou Kibert stap ook uit op die sneeu, in die triestige
winterdag, wat haar sal sien terugkom van die stasie . . . . alleen.
As sy terugkom op Maupas, en deur die gang stap, wat vol kiste
en koffers is, vind sy haar ou meid Marie besig met die ete klaar te
maak.
Meneer het uitgegaan, sê sy, om ’n rytuig te bespreek.
—Sonder te eet? vra mevrou Kibert—sorgsaam soos altyd.
—Hy wou nie.
—En mevrou?
—Watter mevrou? Ag ja, juffrou Paula. Ek kan tog nie gewend
word om haar mevrou te noem nie . . . . is dit nie snaaks nie? . . . .
die juffrou is in haar kamer . . . . As ’n mens oud word, dan vergeet jy
ook alles, en ek is niks meer werd nie.
—Dit kan ook nie anders nie, Marie: ons is altwee oud.
Maar albei vergeet wat hulle te doen het en dink aan die vertrek
wat op hande is; die ou bediende haal haar bril af en stryk haar hand
oor haar oë.
Met haar bewende hande wil mevrou Kibert nog vir die laaste keer
haar dogter haar sjokolade klaarmaak soos sy daarvan hou. Dan
gaan sy luister aan die kamerdeur, en hoor Paula sug. Sy klop, stap
saggies binne, en vind Paula in trane.
—Ma, ag ma, moet ek regtig weggaan! Ek het geen moed meer
nie.
Mevrou Kibert sit die koppie neer, en lê haar gerimpelde hand op
die voorhoof van haar dogter:
—My liefste, ek wou jou vanmôre nog bedien, en ek het van
hierdie broodjies laat kom, wat jy so graag eet.
Sy buig vooroor, en terwyl sy Paula kus, sê sy saggies:
—Hou moed, Paula, God wil dit so! Die liefde van jou man gee my
die versekering dat jy gelukkig sal wees. En moenie oor my ongerus
wees nie.
Maar die trane hou maar aan. Jan kom binne, en sien die twee in
mekaar se arms. Hy dink dat dit Paula is wat moeite doet om haar
ma te troos.
—Ons kom weer, ma, sê hy. Ek beloof u, ons kom weer. Ander
jaar kom Etienne en sy vrou kuier, en dan kom ons die jaar daarna.
Maar as die ou vrou opkyk, merk hy met verbasing dat sy nie
ween nie, en dat dit sy is wat moet troos.
—Waar sal ek in dié twee jaar wees? dink sy. En kalm en ernstig
antwoord sy:
—Jan, jy moet jou vrou tog baie liefhê. As julle vèrweg is, dan sal
dié gedagte my krag gee. God is goed en Hy waak oor ons. Die
skeiding sal die band tussen ons hegter maak. Ons gedagtes en ons
harte bly één. As daar sekerheid van liefde is, dan beteken afstand
tog maar min.
Met dié plegtigheid, wat sy waarskynlik nie opsetlik aan haar
woorde gee nie, gaan die ou moeder aan:
—Bemin mekaar trou. Moenie jul liefde maak tot ’n vervelende en
verswakkende tederheid nie. Put daaruit, en uit jul wedersydse
vertroue, die wilskrag en die volharding vir jul lewe. Kyk vooruit. As
julle agteruitkyk na ons dode, na my, moenie dat dit julle ontmoedig
nie, maar laat dit strek tot beter begrip van jul jonkheid en van al wat
God daarvan verwag.
Jan en sy vrou het haar hande geneem en haar spraakloos
aangehoor.
—Ja, sê sy nog daarby, asof sy in die toekoms sien, kyk vooruit,
na jul planne, na jul toekomstige kroos. Gee aan jul seuns en
dogters dapper harte, en laat hulle ook voor hulle uitkyk, met oë wat
uit jul eie verlede krag sal put om te sien.
Hulle ween albei, terwyl die ou moeder doodkalm bly. En sy
besluit:
—Ek seën julle. Vir jou, Paula, om jou vrome waaksaamheid oor
my, en om jou sorg vir jou broers. En vir jou, Jan, om jou vriendskap
vir Marcel, en om al die geluk wat ek in daardie twee oë lees, al is
hulle vol trane . . . .
Mevrou Kibert gaan met hulle saam tot by die stasie. Hulle
ontmoet daar bowendien nog ’n paar vriende wat die jong
vertrekkende paar kom groet. Jan se oom is siekerig, maar hy het
die bediende gestuur met ’n ruiker blomme. Alida staan opsy—bleek
en skraal, hoewel sy ’n dik pelskleed aan het: sy wag op ’n geskikte
oomblik om Paula te groet. Paula sien haar staan, en gaan na haar
toe; ’n oomblik aarsel die twee, en dan is hulle in mekaar se arms.
Paula sien hoe haar ou skoolmaat lyk, en vra saggies:
—Nog altyd so verdrietig?
—Altyd nog. Maar jy Paula?
Terwyl hul saam na die kant van mevrou Kibert stap, vra Paula
snel aan haar:
—Alida, bewys my tog ’n vriendskap: gaan tog af en toe na ma
toe, hou ’n oog op haar, en skryf my hoe dit met haar gesondheid
gaan.
—Ek beloof jou dit.
Alida bly alleen staan, en bewoë stap Paula terug na haar ma en
Jan. Soos altyd as die oomblik van afskeid kom, is die laaste woord
van die ou vrou ’n gebed:
—Dat God julle beskerm!
Maar as die trein wat hulle wegneem, verdwyn het, raak sy haar
voorhoof aan en voel dat dit yskoud is, en sy dink:
—Dit was hoog tyd. My moed was op.
Sy is verplig om op die bank te gaan sit, in die derdeklas
wagkamer. Die reisigers wat kom en gaan, is besig met hul
reiskaartjies en hul koffers en sien nie eens die ou vrou in haar
rouklere wat daar alleen sit en huil nie.
Sy het weer geword ’n arme, swakke, lydende sterfling. Maar sy
het darem die krag besit om tot die laaste oomblik haar wanhoop
verborge te hou vir haar kinders.
In die trein druk Jan sy wenende vroutjie aan sy bors. Sy leun haar
hoof teen die hart waaraan sy haar heeltemal oorgegee het, en laat
aan haar trane ’n vrye loop. Hy begryp dat hy maar stil moet bly. Hy
streel net saggies haar wang met sy hand, en nou en dan buig hy
vooroor om ’n eerbiedige kus te druk op die oë waarvan hy die trane
nie kan stuit nie. Sy lig nou haar hoof op, en Jan verseker haar:
—Ons kom eendag terug, Paula.
Sy skud haar hoof, twyfelagtig, of wil nog nie vertroos word nie.
—Jy is my alles, Jan, fluister sy; en dan begin sy weer te ween.
Hy begin nou oor haar ma te praat:
—Paula, wat ’n voorbeeld gee sy ons van moed en selfopoffering.
Dat ons dit tog nooit vergeet nie! En as ons dit haar miskien moet
nadoen, dat ons dan steeds aan haar terugdink. O, dat dié wat uit
jou gebore word, soos sy mag wees! Dat hy ’n ferm en dapper hart
mag besit! Dat hy sy bestemming aanvaar sonder sy hande slap te
laat hang, opdat hy, deur nie bang te wees vir die lewe nie, die dood
ook nie vrees nie: dis net onvrugbare siele wat terneergeslae word
deur die gedagte aan die dood. Dat God ons kind beskerm, en ook
haar vir wie ons daar agterlaat met verskeurde hart.
—Ja, antwoord sy nou, dis ook my gebed. Dis God wat aan ma
die tevredenheid en berusting gegee het wat sy op my wou oorbring.
Haar jong lewe het menige uur van smart en rou geken. Maar sy
dink dat hierdie nog die swaarste is. Sy dink dis die dood wat sy
voel. Maar dis die lewe—die lewe in sy verhewenste roering—wat sy
voel in die diepste van haar siel. En dis dié hoogste lewe wat haar
liefde louter, en dié heilige vlam van moederlike opoffering waarvan
sy die krag meer en meer sal ondervind. Eendag sal sy verstaan dat
die edelste, innigste, volste lewe bestaan in algehele oorgawe van
eie hart, en in selfopoffering.
Die trein stoom verby die eikebos van Maupas; en Jan en Paula
kyk nog ’n keer uit oor die welbekende ou landskap. Die takke van
die bome dra sneeuvlokkies, soos klein wit blaartjies wat die
ondergaande son tempteer; en die ryp op die wingerdstokke blink in
die aandstrale soos skitterende kantwerk.
Dáar, en nêrens anders, het sy haar lewe deurgebring totnogtoe,
dáar het sy kennis gemaak met die lewe, met die dood, met die
liefde. En sy dink aan ’n jong, trotse dingetjie wat ’n hoë borsie opsit
omdat sy haar ma oppas.
—Soen my, sê sy aan haar man.
Hy omarm haar, en voldoen aan haar wens. En dié kus verwek ’n
heilige ontroering in hul wese, want hulle voel daarin nie alleen ’n
tere vereniging van hul liggame en siele nie, maar ook haar lange,
vrome toewyding aan haar moeder; hulle voel ook die geheimsinnige
vooruitsig op die betekenis van hul vereniging vir hul ras en nasie; dit
vermeerder hul lewenshoeveelheid en deel aan hul liefde iets
onsterfliks mee . . . .
X.
KALME BERUSTING.
Met moeite staan mevrou Kibert op van die bank waar sy gaan sit
het om te huil. Sy sien al die vreemde mense heen en weer
verbystap, en wil haar droefheid vir hul oë verberg. Sy dink by
haarself:
—Hier kan ek tog nie veel langer bly nie.
Sy staan eindelik op, en moet aan die muur vashou om te bly
staan. Sy vra haarself of sy wel ooit nog krag genoeg het om die
huis te bereik. Sy voel nou eers haar swakheid en ouderdom soos ’n
sware drag op haar skouers. Sy dink terug aan die dag toe sy
aangesukkel het in die eindeloos-lange laning van Chenée. Aan die
deur van die stasie, dink sy met swarigheid aan die lang ent pad
huis-toe. Gewend om nooit koste vir haarself te maak nie, dink sy
daar nie eens aan om een van die huurrytuie te neem wat daar
staan nie.
Stadigies begin sy aan te stap, leunend op haar sambreel, voetjie
vir voetjie, om nie te gly op die sneeu nie. Die moeite wat sy haar
moet gee, trek haar aandag van haar droefheid af. Maar elke keer as
sy ’n oomblik stilstaan, fluister sy die naam van Paula—Paula, wat
haar nooit meer tot steun sal wees nie. In gedagte volg sy haar twee
geliefde reisigers, wat haar geluk wegdra.
—Hulle is nou al dáar of dáar . . . .
As sy oor die bruggie gaan van die troebele, wild-tuimelende
spruitjie, bly sy ’n oomblik staan en leun teen die brugreling om
asem te kry. Daar hoor sy ’n sagte stem roep:
—Mevrou, wil u my toelaat om met u mee te gaan?
Dis Alida, wat gesien het hoe die ou vrou aarselend en sukkelend
die pad van die stasie ingeslaan het, huis-toe; sy het nie geweet of
sy die ou vrou moet help nie—volgens haar belofte aan Paula—dan
of sy haar maar ongesteurd moet laat in haar diepe smart. Maar nou
sy sien dat mevrou Kibert nie meer kan nie, kom sy nader.
Mevrou Kibert is so gedaan, dat sy somaar die arm neem van die
jongvrou. Sy stap bedruk en spraakloos aan. Alida is by-die-hand
genoeg om haar op ’n mooi manier te troos deur haar te vertel hoe
bly haar kinders sal wees as hulle mekaar daar in Asië ontmoet. Aan
die deur bedank Paula haar moeder haar hartlik vir haar moeite.
—Maar ek sal u ook nog die trap ophelp, sê mevrou Marthenay.
—Dis baie goed van jou, dankie.
En as hulle bo kom, sê mevrou Kibert:
—Bly nog ’n oomblik om uit te rus. Ek het swaar op jou arm
geleun, die hele pad.
Daar lê iets smekends in haar gedoofde oë, wat die treurige
verlatenheid van haar huis aanskou. Dit maak Alida verdrietig, en sy
antwoord dat sy ’n bietjie sal sit.
Sy volg die ou vrou in haar slaapkamer, wat oordag ook as
voorkamertjie dien—’n skerm is voor die bed geplaas.
Ou Marie, nog bedroef oor die vertrek van die juffrou, bring ’n
telegram binne:
—Hier is ’n telegram, sê sy; en stuurs kyk sy die deftige mevrou
Marthenay aan.
Met moeite, want sy beef, maak mevrou Kibert die telegram oop.
Die rooi papiertjie, wat die dood kan inhou, maak sy nooit meer oop
sonder angs nie. Maar haar gelaat helder meteens op. Solank as sy
lees, kyk Alida onwillekeurig rond na die armlike meubels—byna
kloosterlik eenvoudig. En daar val haar oog op ’n vergrote portret
van Marcel. Sy gaan nader om te kyk. Die portret was geneem na sy
terugkoms van die woestyn, as kommandant; hy het die strenge kyk
van ongenaakbaarheid in sy oë. En duidelik sien sy weer die dag
terug toe hy met haar gepraat het in die bos van Chenée.
Mevrou Kibert lig haar hoof op van die telegram en sien hoe Alida
daar voor die portret staan. Sy het nou spyt dat sy haar daar in die
kamer gebring het. Maar as sy omdraai en na die ou vrou terugkom,
bars Alida meteens in trane uit.
—Wat makeer?
—Mevrou, o mevrou!
En die jongvrou snik haar geheim uit voor die moeder van Marcel.
—Ek het hom liefgehad. As u kon weet hoe lief ek hom gehad het!
Met groot medelyde kyk mevrou Kibert die jongvrou aan, wat haar
seun moeg gemaak het vir sy lewe. Paula het haar vertel dat Marcel,
op die oomblik toe hy gesneuwel het, in die binnesak van sy baadjie
die portret gehad het van ’n blonde meisiekind. ’n Meisiekind, ja, dit
is sy, ’n swak kind, wat die uitverkorene was van die manhaftige siel!
—Arme kind, sê sy, terwyl sy met haar hand die wang streel van
Alida, wat uitgeput op ’n stoel neergesak het.
Die ellende wat die ou vrou nou te vertroos het, laat haar haar eie
smart vergeet, en oombliklik het sy haar teenwoordigheid van gees
en haar moed terug.
—Alida, my kind, bedaar!
Maar mevrou Marthenay snik aaneen. Eindelik bring sy die
woorde uit, wat al eenkeer oor haar lippe gekom het, en wat ’n
samevatting is van haar hele ongelukkige bestaan.
—Waarom is ek nie sy weduwee nie? Dan sou ek minder
ongelukkig gewees het as nou.
Mevrou Kibert sê saggies:
—Maar jy wou nie sy vrou word nie.
—O, ja, ek wou wél, want ek het hom liefgehad; maar my ouers
was teë daarop.
Sy beskuldig haar ma nie alleen nie.
Maar die ou vrou skud haar kop, en naderbykomend, sê sy nog
sagter, terwyl sy altyd nog Alida haar wang streel:
—Arme kind! Jy het nie geweet wat dit beteken om lief te hê nie.
Alida wil teëpraat, maar die ou vrou gaan aan:
—Nee, jy het nie geweet wat liefde is nie. As ’n mens jou hart
weggee, dan is dit vir altyd. En liefde skenk krag, geduld en
lydsaamheid. Jou ma het jou geluk gesoek—maar op háar manier.
Sy het gedink dat sy goed doen deur jou af te keer van my seun.
Beskuldig haar nie: beskuldig net jouself. Ongetwyfeld sou mevrou
Delourens toegegee het as jou liefde onherroeplik gebly het. Want
sy het jou liefgehad en sy sou geleer het om in te sien dat die
voorwerp van jou liefde haar goedkeuring werd was. Nee, jy wou nie
die vrou word van Marcel nie.
Arme kind, sê sy, terwyl sy met haar hand die wang streel van
Alida, wat uitgeput op ’n stoel neergesak het.
EINDE.
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