Roy and Mullet Fingers are alike in many ways. The boys are about the same age and size; Roy's shoes fit Mullet Fingers. They both appreciate nature. Both boys are clever, coming up with ingenious ways of reaching their goals. Mullet Fingers puts alligators in the portable latrines and uses snakes with taped-shut mouths to scare away the guard dogs. Roy creates an elaborate ruse to ensnare Dana Matherson in his own misdeeds. Neither boy, Roy or Mullet Fingers, gives up easily. Roy doesn't give in to Dana, and he persists in tracking down the running boy and in trying to save the owls. Mullet Fingers works persistently to pester the Mother Paula's company with increasingly severe pranks. Both Roy and Mullet Fingers seem to have a high pain tolerance. Roy invites Dana to hit him, and the bully strikes him on the head three times while on the bus. He also endures some serious brawling in the janitor's closet. Mullet Fingers, despite his infected and wounded arm, runs to the construction site, arriving there before Beatrice and Roy on the bike. He also escapes from the hospital emergency room despite his fever and injury. Neither boy is a "bad kid"; they both stay primarily within the law and avoid causing physical harm to people while they try to interfere with the construction. Both boys, however, are willing to lie and/or withhold the truth in order to achieve their ends. Mullet Fingers keeps his name secret. At the hospital, both he and Roy lie about who Mullet Fingers is, and Roy lies to his parents and withholds some of the information about Beatrice and Mullet Fingers from them. Although Roy and Mullet Fingers come from different backgrounds, they are similar in many ways.