For Mr.Sam Cheatley, the village butcher, was a man of violent temper, hasty in his judgments and merciless in his punishment.

There was a possibility of unhappy consequences for Mop in spite of his practiced ability in deception.
Hence his nerves were set a-jangling, and his temper, never very certain, was rather on edge.

The pale face of the little boy annoyed him, and the little whimsical smile which never quite left his face confronted him like an insult.
"You're scared," reiterated Mop with increasing contempt, "and you know you're scared.

You ain't got any spunk anyway.

You ain't got the spunk of a louse." With a quick grip he caught the boy by the collar (he was almost twice Larry's size), and with a jerk landed him on his back in a brush heap.