Well, it looks like Jules Rivera set up Honest Ernest to go with the second option: Exterminate the bats. However, this timely, dramatic interruption sets up a nice mystery. Indeed, who is that person in the 40’s style hat? Did somebody call in the Fish & Wildlife Service to stake out the music hall? Or did Violet Cheshire’s husband get wind of the situation and stood in wait for Ernest to show up? Or maybe somebody completely different, like a newspaper reporter! I’m thinking more along that line, given the flash camera shot and the fedora hat, stereotypical components of newspaper reports in the old days. Maybe he even wears a trench coat. Yet that sounds like a silly idea.

I’m actually a bit excited to see what happens next. Glad to see Rivera engaging in some drama and mystery, rather than continue her too-frequent attempts at being humorous. There are already plenty of gag-a-day strips and way, too few adventure strips.