Yes, now that Mark has taken care of his extracurricular, time-wasting duties, they finally get around to entering the cave where they assume Wesley is somehow trapped. By the way, did Mark and Sammy consider the possible reason for Wesley’s entrapment and the possibility that they, too, could get trapped for the same reason? If so, Rivera did not choose to tell us.

Except for panel 2, today’s strip is full of comments that are pointless or patronizing.

Either Sammy Spotter (panel 1) is really slow in finally figuring out why they rented all of that gear or Rivera believes her readers are! On the optimistic assumption it is the former case, perhaps we might have to change our mind about Sammy being the criminal mastermind that I theorized last Friday. And Mark asking if Rusty is ready to explore the cave is a bit late in the game. That question should have been asked back at the beach, where Rusty could have declined and retreated to the hotel.

Panel 3 shows Mark patronizing Rusty, who is just a kid enjoying an adventure. That doesn’t mean he isn’t mindful of what they are doing. Rusty’s comment in panel 2 is quite appropriate for a kid his age. Rivera got that part right. If Mark wanted Rusty to express an “adult” point of view, why did Mark treat him as a kid and leave him back at the hotel beach in the first place?

Anyway, Mark is only “rescuing” Wingit because he is getting paid to do it. Apparently, that is the right reason. Lesson learned?