"I'm good at land titles."
"Nope," Mr. Simpson said again.
Another man stood behind a wooden counter upon which rested three walnut shells. "Triple your money," he chanted. "Pick the shell with the pea under it and triple your money." He lifted the center shell to reveal a green pea. "If you'd picked that one, friend, you'd have tripled your money."
"What's that?" Cindy asked.
"A game fools play," her father told her. "He holds the pea in his hand and cheats people."
"That isn't very nice!" Cindy exclaimed.
A wagon drawn by two small horses and piled high with prairie chickens, a wild game bird that is good to eat, lurched down the street. The driver called, "Fresh-shot prairie chickens for sale cheap!" Pete and Jed looked at the wagon with interest.
"Where'd you get them?" Mr. Simpson called.
"Shot 'em on the prairie, an' now I'm sellin' 'em. A body has to turn a penny somehow."
"It's something to think about," Pete remarked.