Character Analysis
So, Bugs. No, not the bunny. This Bugs is an orphan who's an expert traveler, having already ridden the rails west and back. Bud meets him in the Home and remembers him mostly because a cockroach once got stuck in the kid's ear. Yowza. We don't even want to think about that.
Like Bud, Bugs wants his freedom and runs away to get it. So Bugs becomes Bud's new BFF, his partner in crime. Not that Bud wants anything to do with trouble, but he really doesn't want to go it alone. Bugs is okay with being alone and ends up staying on the train out west even though Bud doesn't make it.
To Bugs, Bud is pretty cool for standing up to Todd Amos. Bugs is wide-eyed in awe when he asks, "Did the guy cry when you whupped him?" (8.18). We get the sense that Bugs would have been too scared to stand up to a bully like Todd. So, yeah, maybe Bugs is more afraid of things than Bud, and maybe he does leave Bud behind when Bud misses the train, but Bugs is a nice kind of buddy to have around.