Jack Ford 's peculiar pastime was buying and selling ; and he bid fair to follow in the footsteps of his uncle , a country merchant , who sold a little of every thing and made money fast . Jack had seen the sugar sanded , the molasses watered , the butter mixed with lard , and things of that kind , and labored under the delusion that it was all a proper part of the business . His stock in trade was of a different sort , but he made as much as he could out of every worm he sold , and always got the best of the bargain when he traded with the boys for string , knives , fish-hooks , or whatever the article might be . The boys who all had nicknames , called him `` Skinflint , '' but Jack did not care as long as the old tobacco-pouch in which he kept his money grew heavier and heavier . He established a sort of auction-room , and now and then sold off all the odds and ends he had collected , or helped the lads exchange things with one another . He got bats , balls , hockey-sticks , etc. , cheap , from one set of mates , furbished them up , and let them for a few cents a time to another set , often extending his business beyond the gates of Plumfield in spite of the rules . Mr. Bhaer put a stop to some of his speculations , and tried to give him a better idea of business talent than mere sharpness in overreaching his neighbors . Now and then Jack made a bad bargain , and felt worse about it than about any failure in lessons or conduct , and took his revenge on the next innocent customer who came along . His account-book was a curiosity ; and his quickness at figures quite remarkable . Mr. Bhaer praised him for this , and tried to make his sense of honesty and honor as quick ; and , by and by , when Jack found that he could not get on without these virtues , he owned that his teacher was right . Cricket and football the boys had of course ; but , after the stirring accounts of these games in the immortal `` Tom Brown at Rugby , '' no feeble female pen may venture to do more than respectfully allude to them . Emil spent his holidays on the river or the pond , and drilled the elder lads for a race with certain town boys , who now and then invaded their territory . The race duly came off , but as it ended in a general shipwreck , it was not mentioned in public ; and the Commodore had serious thoughts of retiring to a desert island , so disgusted was he with his kind for a time . No desert island being convenient , he was forced to remain among his friends , and found consolation in building a boat-house . The little girls indulged in the usual plays of their age , improving upon them somewhat as their lively fancies suggested . The chief and most absorbing play was called `` Mrs. Shakespeare Smith ; '' the name was provided by Aunt Jo , but the trials of the poor lady were quite original . Daisy was Mrs. S. S. , and Nan by turns her daughter or a neighbor , Mrs. Giddygaddy . No pen can describe the adventures of these ladies , for in one short afternoon their family was the scene of births , marriages , deaths , floods , earthquakes , tea-parties , and balloon ascensions . Millions of miles did these energetic women travel , dressed in hats and habits never seen before by mortal eye , perched on the bed , driving the posts like mettlesome steeds , and bouncing up and down till their heads spun . Fits and fires were the pet afflictions , with a general massacre now and then by way of change .
Nan was never tired of inventing fresh combinations , and XXXXX followed her leader with blind admiration .
Daisy Ford Jo Skinflint Smith ascensions auction-room earthquakes floods steeds