It can be whatever you want it to be.

It can be a happy song.

It can be an epic song.

It can be a creepy song.

It can be a scary song.

It can be a light song.

It can be a heavy song.

Oh, "Carol Of The Bells," how I love you.

(And I'm so glad that they play about five different versions of you at work.)

And remember folks,

Please treat the cashmere sweaters with class.

(It's no less than they deserve.)

Where!?!

That nasty poaching business behind them, Mark and Rusty are back on the road, and so that the only thing Rusty remembers from their fishing/camping/photography trip is not the fact that there were poachers and that Sassy was almost eaten by an alligator, Mark decides to take the long way home and give Rusty a chance to see the ocean. They are also apparently bringing home a few guests considering how excited that pelican is to tell Cherry and Doc about the poachers (even though it wasn't even there) and how willing the flea on its wing is to let it tell all of the gory details. Who knows, maybe the Jack Elrod Ball is relating the entire story as it rides along on the pelican's wing. But there could be trouble brewing. While Mark and Rusty chit chat, something seems to have drawn Sassy's attention, and the poor, sweet little puppy doesn't seem to like what she's seeing one bit.
As Mark and Rusty cruise down the highway in that super cool station wagon, a pair of turtles or snakes or bugs or microscopic organisms finally reach the ocean and are amazed that the world has suddenly become a much, much bigger place. The pelican and the Jack Elrod Ball, meanwhile, having flown on ahead, are taking a little rest before they resume the journey back to Lost Forest, but will they even make it? Trouble appears to be on the horizon as a bush yells out a warning to Mark as he drives by, causing the intrepid woodsman to gasp in shock and horror. Whatever could he be seeing? An alien invasion force? A forest fire? A car wreck? A line of ducklings or baby turtles trying to cross the road? A new Cracker Barrel? I, for one, can't wait to find out.

Just don't let him do anything that involves negotiating and everything will be fine.

Ray and Phil dispatched and probably turned over to the proper authorities (or maybe left to the animals for a little swamp justice), Mark and Bob head on over to the wildlife office to pay a visit to Mark's good friend Cliff for another cup of that awesome coffee he makes. (We'll just assume that Rusty and Sassy are waiting in the car.) Mark tells Cliff about the fishing trip (though he neglects to mention that they didn't exactly catch any fish) and explains that Bob is a really, really great guy who's just a little down on his luck and could use a job so that he doesn't revert to his criminal ways (or get peered-pressured into them again).
With recommendations from both Mark Trail and the Jack Elrod Ball, Cliff decides to give poor Bob a break and not take him to court. Ray and Phil, however, will not be so lucky and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But wait, there's more! Seeing as how Mark thinks Bob is such a great guy, Cliff decides to give Bob a job in the Wildlife Control Department. (I hear there's a dangerous bear on the lose and there have been a few positions suddenly come open, but don't tell Bob.) It looks like things are finally starting to look up for Bob. Sure, he doesn't have any training in wildlife control, his last job was in a mill, and he's easily led, but at least now he's got a job and probably a snazzy new uniform, so all's well that ends well, I guess.

How do you feel about Mitch Miller?

With the circus caper neatly wrapped up (though with a surprisingly few number of casualties), Dick heads home to a relaxing evening with Tess. But wait! Tess has an idea! But wait, there's more! A possibly far more interesting mysterious figure, shrouded in shadow, with great piercing eyes, is making a call to the police station. Seems that the poor fellow has lost someone, or actually some thing, and he really, really wants it back (oh, and if you could find the guy, that'd be good too, I guess). You can tell that the operator really cares about this potential new case from his glazed over eyes and expression of sheer boredom. Must be a slow day at the station. Too bad he forgot to bring his crossword or Sudoku book today, but at least the phone call means that there's the potential for something interesting to happen.
Back at the Tracy household, all Dick wants to do is take off his tie and relax, maybe have a drink, watch a little TV (I hear there's a good game on tonight). Tess, on the other hand, has been stuck in that darn house since Dick sent her home from the circus with Bonnie (say, what happened to Bonnie anyway?) and she wants to go out on the town, or at least to a concert. Dick doesn't seem to be too keen on that idea and wants to know if it's going to be some of that long hair stuff that the kids are all listening to now, but before Tess can give us an answer, the story switches back to that exciting phone call, where the mysterious figure, who is mysterious no more (well, he still doesn't have a name or anything, but at least he's no longer in the shadows), is describing the person who's gone missing with the even more important missing mystery object. (Oh Tracy, it looks like you'll be seeing some long hair after all.) Maybe we'll even learn what it is one of these days.
Meanwhile, back at the Tracy's, Dick seems in much better spirits now that he's found out that Tess wants to go to the symphony. I mean, what could go wrong at the symphony? What could go wrong indeed. Dick is already taking the initiative, after mentioning Tess's propensity for getting him into cases, and has donned his detective outfit because we all know that this quiet night at the symphony is going to turn into a case faster than you can duh duh duh duuuuuuuh. But back to the phone call, our wild-haired caller who just wants to get his son back (oh, and that thing that his son took with him, and really, if you only find the son, just leave him alone, but if you find the thing, get it back here as soon as possible) isn't too happy with what the operator had to say. Probably something about how difficult it is to find missing persons, or how he has to wait twenty-four hours before his son can be considered a missing person, or how his son being in his twenties means that he can leave the house and go wherever he pleases because he's an adult. I can't wait to see how these two stories will collide (I mean, I think I already know, but I just want to see if I'm right).

I know I've probably said it before.

100 pages to go!

100 pages to go!

(I really hope the ones after it don't need a lot of love too.)

100 pages to go!

No, Bob, that's really not necessary.

Deciding that he doesn't really want to die, and that if he doesn't actually do something, he will, Bob, who thinks he has nothing left to lose but his life, leaps towards a nearby tree, grabs hold of a convenient branch, and swings forward, kicking Ray and Phil (who apparently showed up sometime between these strips) in the face. (Oh, I really hope that he didn't step in anything today, or that he at least had time to clean off his boots if he did.) Fortunately, Bob's lightning attack is all Mark needs to begin his own attack, deciding to take all of his frustrations out on Ray while Bob concentrates on Phil (who really hasn't done much this entire story). Looks like the attempted murder of Sassy was just too much for Bob and he's decided to turn his back on Ray and Phil for good. What boggles my mind is that Ray seems confused by the fact that Bob is attacking him. (Dude, you just told him you were going to cut him out of the deal and probably kill him. Why wouldn't he attack you?) The good thing about this strip, though, is that it shows us that both Mark and Bob seem to be in relatively good physical condition as they're able to carry on a conversation while fighting their foes without so much as an indication of labored breath or gasp for air. (Looks like someone took the President's Physical Fitness Challenge seriously. Next up: the dreaded pull ups. Good luck guys! I know you can do it!)
Their foes vanquished, Mark grabs Ray's gun and while he has no intention of firing it, it does make him look awfully impressive and is a good deterrent for any further attacks. The gun, however, seems to be beside itself and can't believe that Ray would have ever thought of firing it at an innocent child or his puppy. Now that the fighting is over, though, Bob decides that it's finally time to get this whole poaching thing off of his chest, which can only mean that it's time for a recap. (Oh goody. I can hardly wait. How many strips is this one going to take?)