"Alibi?" Kitty shook her head.

Matt grinned. "That's what he said his name was, right, Doc?"

The old man nodded, sipping his whiskey. They were at their favorite back table in the Longbranch when they heard a familiar jingle of spurs and Festus came in with the stranger. Doc waved them over, then said, "Ask him yourself if you don't believe us, Kitty."

"Ask who what?" Festus had reached the table and tipped his hat to Kitty, smiling. "Miss Kitty, look who wuz waitin' 'round outside! This here is my cousin, Alibi Haggen. Alibi, I want you to meet Miss Kitty Russell. She owns the Longbranch. And this is Marshal Matthew Dillon and Doc Adams."

"I already met the doctor and the marshal, cousin." Alibi pulled off his hat and smiled at Kitty. He had washed up and combed his hair and it was easy to see the family resemblance to Festus. "It's a pure pleasure to acquaintance you, ma'am." He offered his hand to Matt. "Marshal." They shook and he reached for Doc's hand. "Doctor."

Doc shook hands. "Everybody calls me Doc."

The young man smiled. "Doc."

"Well, don't just stand there, cousin! Set yoreself down whilst I get us a couple beers." Festus went to the bar and returned with two mugs. Handing one to his cousin, he sat down and took a long swallow. "What wuz you fixin' on askin' 'bout, Miss Kitty?"

Kitty's mouth opened and closed. She looked sternly at Doc and the old man said innocently, "Why, the fact of the matter is, we were just wondering about your cousin's unusual name, Festus."

Alibi smiled. "Foot, Doc, that ain't my real name."

Festus chimed in. "His real name's Richard, but we got in the habit of callin' him Alibi 'cause he draws trouble like a summer melon draws flies." Matt, Doc and Kitty traded looks and the hillman went on hastily, "He ain't never did nothin' unlawsome, Matthew. It's just somehow he's alwuz gettin' blamed for somethin' or other."

"That's a pure ol'dee fact, marshal," said Alibi. "I had to come up with a alibi so much folks just started callin' me Alibi." He laughed. "Festus, do you recollect the time that feller thought I'd stole his horse?"

Festus snorted. "What I recollect is buckshot flyin' when he come to the camp to get it back." The other three were trading looks again and the hillman assumed a virtuous expression. "Alibi and me wuz out huntin' and he found this here horse runnin' wild on the prairie."

"It didn't have no saddle or nothin'...I thought it busted loose from somewheres so I brung it back to the camp to ask Festus what to do with it, and the feller it b'longed to seen me and follered me," said Alibi, taking up the story. "It wuz all just what you might call a misunderstandin' and it worked out all right in the end, didn't it, Festus?"

"If'n you call a backside fulla buckshot all right, I reckon it did." Festus finished his beer and regarded his cousin suspiciously. "What would you be comin' to town for?"

Alibi looked around the table. "Well, that would be kinda fam'ly bizness, Festus. You got someplace we can jaw, private like?"

Festus bit his lip. "Alibi, I don't want to seem unmannersome but the last time we jawed 'bout fam'ly bizness I got throwed down a well." Doc snickered, then winced as Kitty kicked him under the table. The hillman looked appealingly at his cousin. "You ain't in trouble now, are you?"

"No." Alibi drained his beer. "I ain't fixin' to be neither. That's why I need yore help."

"My help." Festus sighed and got to his feet. "Well, all right, I been workin' at the stable and I got a room out back. I s'pose we can talk there."