before his wife and son. Upon his arrival in Adenville he has difficulty assimilating, until Tom takes the initiative to show Basil the ropes of being a bona fide American kid. Sammy Leeds, who is something of a bully. His father is bigoted and incites him to harass Basil, a newly arrived Greek immigrant, but is given his comeuppance when Tom encourages a lumberjack-style fight and Basil bests Sammy in wrestling, which the Greeks have excelled at. Jimmie Peterson, another of John's best friends, whose mother owns the local boarding house. Along with Danny Forester, Jimmie is swindled out of a baseball when Tom bets him, causing his mother to "give him a horsewhipping". He is almost killed along with Howard Kay and Tom on Tom's river raft the "Explorer" when a flood strikes. This incites anger in John as Tom put his friends' lives in danger for a fast buck. Polly Reagan, who becomes Tom's girlfriend when he turns 13. She has a "great brain" as well, having tied Tom in the town spelling bee. John resents her dating Tom, as she has taken all of Tom's attention to the detriment of playing with John and his friends. Seth Smith, a local Mormon boy close to Tom's age. He is friends with both Tom and John as he is too young to be included with the bigger kids. Seth's father owned a vacant lot, which he allowed the kids to use in exchange for keeping it free of weeds and litter. As there are no baseball diamonds or playgrounds in Adenville, this is the usual site where the kids play baseball, scrub football, or other games such as run sheep run. John was given a pig by Seth in exchange for a sought-after toy, only for John's mother to screech she will not have any pig breeding on the Fitzgerald land. Herbie Sties, a fat poet whom Tom sets out to reform out of his eating habits. Harold Vickers, son of the district attorney. Harold is 16, making him older than the other kids. He knows a great deal about the law and plans to become a lawyer when he is older. He is chosen by John to act as the judge at a trial for Tom set in the Fitzgerald barn. During the trial, Tom is charged with being a confidence man, swindler, and a crook by all