Sentence:  “And if Pelton found out that his kids are Literates—"Woooo!"” Cardon grimaced. “Or what we've been doing to him. I hope I′m not around when that happens. I′m beginning to like the cantankerous old <WSD>bugger</WSD>.” 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Someone viewed with affection; a chap.