Hole In the Wall Gang reference??

How convenient, though…  When in doubt, create another improbable plot twist, a la cave adventures (in the sonoran desert swimming through a blind underwater passage all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, or underneath a bank in a ramshackle, dilapidated western town in the badlands…) or exploding islands and sloop rigged yachts… I guess that’s prerogative of the scribe… the escape is only a pen stroke away.   So go ahead, kiddos, you’re safe as kittens…

In a city where is seems that all the stucco and mud coatings have seen better days, the wall that will trap them looks to be freshly skimmed and painted!

Mara, sometimes it’s the littlest of things… decisions we make that can turn the tide for or against us.  The day you decided to follow the hapless and feckless Rusty Trail into a Mexican alley is the day that you will live to rue…  If they survive this setback!!

Not to mention that cheesy grin in the second panel.  Would you trust this guy?   Oh Hell  no!

Somehow he knows about the dig site…

…but even that is not enough to win the trust of these two plucky tweens…  And off they go around another blind corner!

Raul, he of tiny hands and wandering right eye… is attempting to lure the children in with the oldest of ruses… “I am a friend of your Dad’s!”  OK, then who’s my Daddy?  How do you know him?

Good Lord, how much longer does this drag out?  Christmas?  That’s where my money is…

As Mara comes to her senses… as in, “Why the hell am I following this dimwitted boy?” Rusty tries to justify what was probably a bad move…

Enter Raul… Looks like a baddie, but wait, what?  He’s calling out to the kids like he’s trying to help them…  hmmmm….. what to do??  How about clicking your heels together and getting the heck out of there!

Better get caught up, here… With the dude on chopper in hot pursuit, making mincemeat of the patio furniture…

…our people are racing through the highways and byways of Santa Poco…

…until they make their most serious mistake of all…

…following Rusty’s lead!  Good luck with that.  Taking after his father, though, heading down blind alleyways in search of sanctuary.  We’ll be back in a while after this little chase scene resolves…

As we continue the slow crawl through the streets of Santa Poco…

…it would appear that Raul is in charge…

…it would also appear that Mara’s proportions are growing by the day… her blossoming bodice is becoming a downright distaction.  Rusty’s form, as he chimps along, looks more apelike than human, poised to have his knuckles drag at any moment…

Why does a guy on a chopper cut such a menacing profile?  What is it about the popular culture that puts that notion immediately in our heads?  Didn’t the Rolling Stones hire the Hells Angels to act a security at one of their shows?  OK, that little incident at the Altamont Speedway didn’t turn out so well…

Yes, it’s the biker… What’s his name…  Raul… who is hooked up with Sleepy Joe and the antiquities operation, or is undercover Federales… Who knows?

Yes, the Biker is following you!  Duh!  And it’s also good to know that Mr. Allen can draw the bike and rider from two perspectives.  Or did he just take the image and flip it?

   Yup!

Judging by the Toucan’s flap, we are now moving through the Trailverse at 16 frames per second…

And ‘Backpack Guy’ seems to have Rusty and Mara firmly in his web of deceit…

So let’s all look forward to the next ‘flap’ of this story- a single framer, no doubt, wherein our main characters continue to walk toward the camera, boring even themselves…

Another award winning single panel ‘wonder’ that moves the “story” ahead ever so slightly…

…while Mara’s proportions grow more amazonian by the day (or minute?) …