Count me as another who quite enjoyed this story. It was good to see Tracy and Sam detecting; the final showdown was classic (albeit surprisingly bloodless) and Ape and Ferret were always entertaining. I’d have preferred a more definite ending, but this one looks pretty obvious. I certainly hope that Mark Barnard gets asked to do future stories from time to time. (And if Mike Curtis retires, he’d be an obvious choice as a replacement.)
I can’t say that I found Ape charming; I’ve had to work with too many idiots over the years. But I did find Ferret likeable. I don’t expect that we’ll see her again, but it wouldn’t bother me if we did.
“Cavalry”, like the Spanish “caballero” (horseman) and the French “chevalier” (knight; ie; man on horseback) and its cognate “cavalier” all come from the Army Latin “caballus”; horse.
Ferret was standing in front of Sam; Ape in front of Tracy. That’s why Tracy wasn’t hit; any darts going at him hit Ape instead. It looks to me as if Ferret took a couple of hits that would otherwise have gotten Sam. (Which is a pity; I liked her.) But she’s short, so one dart went over her head and hit Sam in the hat. Previous strips showed Daisy scrambling for cover, so he’s probably OK. Why Yeti didn’t shoot Rose has me baffled. Anyway, that’s how I read it.
I have to agree that this was a wasted Sunday strip. (As was last week’s, for that matter.)