Character Analysis
Mr. Sophisticated
Musket is the person who changes Theo's life forever. He comes into Anton's printing shop, wanting flyers made up for Dr. Absalom (a.k.a. Las Bombas). Though small in stature (he's a little person), he makes up for his lack of height in his overweening confidence—walking with a lot of swagger, Musket wears a big hat and projects an even larger (metaphorical) shadow.
Musket runs scams with Las Bombas and serves as his assistant in perpetrating their schemes to get money. He also acts superior to Theo, who he sees as a nobody from a cultural backwater, while Musket himself appears to be a man of the world. He looks down on Theo for never having left Dorning before and not being up on what's going on outside of his little town.
A Tender Heart
But Musket isn't all talk and no substance, and while he helps execute Las Bombas's scams, he's also a loyal friend. So when they encounter Theo on the run, Musket's first instinct is to protect Las Bombas:
"Please—let me rest. I don't know what to do. My master's out there somewhere. They're after him. They'll be after Dr. Absalom, too."
The dwarf had been making every effort to push Theo out of the coach. Hearing this, he stopped abruptly. (3.4-5)
There might be some self-interest in his protection of LB—Musket probably gets a part of Las Bombas's profits, plus he's the getaway driver of their coach, so LB's safety is directly connected to his own on a couple of levels—but at his core, he totally cares about Las Bombas because he was one of the only people who ever cared about him.
LB rescued Musket from a beggar factory, where he would have been forced into the streets, trapped in an awful life for good. So no matter what Las Bombas does, the count is still good in Musket's book, because he saved Musket's life. Musket is a ride-or-die kinda guy for Las Bombas, his BFF—and in this way, he and LB work together to trouble black and white morality. They're both super tricksters, with some undeniable soft spots in their wily hearts.