It was early in the evening when Matt and Festus rode into Silver Cliff. Matt figured to have a word with Jeff Boone the county sheriff. He would most likely know more about the Coopers'. They had registered at the hotel then left to go to the sheriff's office. A young man saw them head towards the jailhouse. He smiled recalling meeting Matt when he was 8-years-old. He watched them go in the building. Matt smiled as Bill and Ted came up to him to take his hand.

"Howdy Matt. James figured that you might need help with the Cooper boys. He also sent this wire with us."

Bill handed the wire to Matt. He read it and broke into a grin.

"Tess has fully recovered. The bay mare gave birth to a buckskin colt and Fred allowed her to name him."

"What did she call him?"

"Well Tess decided to call him Festus."

"That ol' quackety quack-quack probably said somethin' about him bein' the only one called Festus with brains."

Matt smiled ruefully acknowledging that Festus was probably right. He also knew that Doc was fond of Festus even though if pressed he'd never actually say that out loud.

"James did some checking," Bill said. "Seems Bessie Cooper met her husband not long after she was released from prison. She hasn't done anything wrong since then or at least we couldn't find anything."

"I met Hank Cooper once or twice he was a good man. He died three years ago," Jeff Boone said.

"That's right around the time that the boys started out," Ted said.

"Bessie told me they never would listen to her. She's tried getting them to give themselves up. Told them all about the Cooner gang and what she'd planned. She also told them what happened to her in prison. You can guess how that turned out."

Matt nodded he remembered Bessie telling him that killing a man a day had been her idea. He had heard that the 18 months she'd served in the prison had not been easy.

"As I recall Bessie gave birth to Nick Cooner's son in prison." Matt said.

"He'd have been put in the orphanage, wouldn't he?" Bill asked.

Matt nodded again wondering if the boy had been adopted or had he grown up in that place.

"I was adopted by Reverend Jenkins the pastor of the Hayes church and his wife Mary. My name's Phil Cooner."

Everyone turned to study the young man who'd just entered the jail. He stood 6 feet tall with the dark hair of both Bessie and Nick Cooner. Matt was struck about how much Phil looked like his father.

"Didn't take to religion myself nor to breaking the law. Just bought some land near Dodge. I figure on taking Ma there if she's a mind."

"What about the folks who raised you?" Matt asked.

"They died of the smallpox three years ago."

"Sorry to hear that, son." Matt said.

"Yeah Mother insisted on nursing a local family who'd got it. She passed it on to father. I didn't know about my real ma until I was 10."

Phil explained that some of the other kids had started teasing him about his ma being in the workhouse. Then one of them James Gaymer had called her a whore.

"That's when I hit him. I thought he was talking about Mother Jenkins."

"How'd he find out about your real ma?" Festus asked.

"His pa was Sheriff Reardon's deputy."

"His father wouldn't be Jud Gaymer by any chance?" Matt asked.

"Seems he heard my father talking to Sheriff Reardon."

"I think I can guess the rest," Matt said.

"Of course Frank Reardon left Hayes not long after that. Father told me before he died to find my real mother. I suppose he thought it was time we met. He said they'd only actually fostered me. They'd have needed my real ma's signature to make it official. Father gave me ma's address. We've been writing to each other. I get the feeling she hasn't told them about me."

"We'll be riding on to your Ma's farm tomorrow. She's going to need you. We're going to have to arrest your brothers."

"Ma said in her last letter that they were pretty a wild bunch. What'd they do?"

"Well most recently they attempted to rob the bank in Dodge city. On their way out of town they knocked my 4-year-old granddaughter over."

"Jeez is she ..."

"She's fine now. I'm charging them with endangering lives as well as attempting the bank."

Phil nodded he'd seen Matt before in Hayes his father had told him about the marshal. He remembered once when his folks took him to Dodge when they visited with Reverend English. A man had tried to kill Matt but had for all his trouble ended up dead in the street. He'd gotten lost Matt had seen that and took him back to Reverend English's house after getting him a stick of candy. His reverie was broken when Matt moved to the door. Phil stepped out onto the boardwalk.

"I don't know if you remember, Marshal, but you bought me a stick of candy when I was 8?"

Matt thought back smiling as he remembered a small boy who'd gotten lost and witnessed him having to kill a drunk cowboy who'd drawn on him.

"Sure I remember. You've grown into a fine young man. Have you got a room?"

"Yeah I'm in the hotel room 15."

"I'm in room 12. Meet us at the stables at first light."

"Sure thing."

Matt watched Phil as he headed for the hotel. Festus came to stand by him.

"You know'd thet young'in Matthew?"

"I met Phil once before when he was 8."

Matt explained how Phil had seen him have to kill a drunk cowboy. How he saw that the boy was lost. Festus knew Matt well enough to know that he would've seen the boy got back to his folks. They both now headed first for the stable to see to Buck and Ruth make sure they were fed and watered. After that they'd head for the hotel for a meal and to their rooms to rest up.