Mark Trail used to epitomize—or at least advertise—“old-fashioned” morals and ethics. Not the phony kind that politicians trot out during elections, but the Norman Rockwell kind:  respect, compassion, politeness, tolerance, and a willingness to beat the tar out of anybody that said otherwise.

Okay, maybe not the last one, but don’t hold me to it. My point? Thanks to the generosity of Tad Crass and his silent partners, Mark and his family received an expenses-paid-for trip to Las Vegas, free lodging at a themed hotel, free meals, and a free muscle car rental (at a premium rate), just to participate in a contest to win a tidy little sum of greenbacks. So what did Mark do?

Instead of thanking Tad for his generosity, Mark decided to skip some of the competition in order to investigate Tad’s planned sports arena because it competes for the same land as a planned solar energy project. We are all trying to figure out what is illegal or unethical in this conflict (other than solar energy is good and athletic arenas are nice, but expensive). But something weird seems to be in the wind, based on the activity this past week and on comments submitted to Saturday’s blog.

Mark and Cliff drove out to the solar energy project HQ to interview the project manager. In the middle of the interview, two really tall, big guys also showed up. They identified themselves as former MMA fighters now working as Woodsman Olympics security and it was their job to make Mark and Cliff return to the competition. I suppose it might have something to do with a commitment by Mark and Cliff, who are there on Tad’s dollar. There was some verbal back-and-forth that quickly turned to threatened physical force by the security guys. That led to the expected fight.

One might expect trained professional fighters would make quick work of Cliff and even Mark. But this is Mark’s adventure strip, so he and Cliff somehow overcame the two guys long enough to get to their car and bug out, supposedly to return to the competition, anyway! The two MMA-security guys quickly recovered and were hot on their trail in their own van.

Mark’s Spidey Sense® about something suspicious must be on the mark, because the bad guys blurted out “They know too much!” as they chased Mark and Cliff. This is a clear indication that more is at stake than just a sports arena. But Mark’s luck held out again as the pursuit van rolled over on a sharp turn before they could catch up. Mark gloated as he left the van and its occupants behind, apparently uninterested in their condition. Am I being too hard on Mark?

This lizard is also known by other names and exists in parts of several western states. One characteristic that may be difficult to illustrate successfully is the appearance of light-colored spots across the main body, while the tail may reverse the coloring of the skin and the spots. I’m guessing this is the reason for the “spots” around “Mark Trail” in the Title Panel. When the Roadrunner (seen in Saturday’s strip) is not avoiding Wile E. Coyote, it enjoys a good meal of Great Basin Collard Lizard.