Jack & Harry by Tony McKenna Read Free Book Online Page B

you don’t know about the Melbourne Cup. I thought everyone knew about it.’ Bodini sounded incredulous.
    â€˜Oh, I know about the Cup, just didn’t know it was on today that’s all.’ Jack nudged Harry. ‘Did we, Harry?’ Harry murmured and pretended he was still asleep. He didn’t like the way the conversation was headed.
    â€˜Come to think of it, Jack, I’m surprised your dad is out buying today, didn’t think anyone’d be doing much.’
    â€˜Who won, Mr Bodini?’ Jack quickly steered the conversation away. ‘The cup?’
    â€˜Comic Court. Amazing! Long shot it was, not many picked it. Beat Chiquita. Wished I’d put me money on it, paid a good dividend.’
    â€˜Country looks pretty dry up this way.’ Jack changed the subject completely, his mouth as dry with nervousness as the land looked.
    â€˜Hmm, could do with some rain.’ Bodini glanced at the brown paddocks as they slipped by the truck window. ‘You boys seen the swans up in Northam?’
    â€˜Seen plenty of swans haven’t we, Harry?’ Jack nudged Harry more firmly in the ribs needing some support in the conversation.
    â€˜Plenty of swans, yeah,’ Harry mumbled.
    â€˜These are white swans, have you seen white swans?’
    â€˜White swans! Come on Mr Bodini, you’re pullin’ our legs.’
    â€˜No I’m not,’ he laughed. ‘White swans on the Avon River. You can feed ’em if you’ve got some bread, very tame they are. You can almost pat ’em but sometimes you’ve got to be careful ’cause some of them get a bit nasty. You could maybe see ’em while you wait for your dad to finish his business at the saleyards.’
    â€˜That sounds like a good idea, we’ll tell him first though.’ Harry at last joined the conversation. ‘Don’t want your dad worrying that we didn’t get to Northam, Jack, eh?’
    â€˜I stop out of town a bit, boys. If you hang on I can maybe find someone heading into town and they could drop you off at the saleyards.’ Bodini liked the boys and thought he would help them get to Jack’s father without having to waste time walking the rest of the way.
    â€˜That’s OK, Mr Bodini.’ Jack was concerned. ‘We can walk, be good for us and you’ve done enough already.’
    â€˜No trouble really but if you want to walk then it won’t take you too long. Been here before … to Northam?’
    â€˜Only once, drove through it with Dad.’
    â€˜Well if you head down this street …’ Bodini braked the truck to a stop outside the dairy depot, pointing through the windscreen. ‘Three streets down you turn right and go down a ways and you’ll see the saleyards.’
    â€˜Thanks, Mr Bodini, we really appreciate the lift.’
    â€˜Yeah, thanks a lot it’s been great.’ Harry climbed from the cab followed quickly by Jack.
    â€˜Have a good day, boys and don’t forget to have a look at those swans if you get time. Say hello to your dad for me, Jack.’ He put the truck in motion and waved as he entered the depot yard.
    Bodini thought to himself what well-mannered kids they were. Not for one minute did he suspect that they were lying about meeting Jack Ferguson at the saleyards. He sounded the truck’s horn in farewell to the boys as he watched them walk down the road, bags slung over their shoulders.
    â€˜Stage one, Harry, we made it to Northam.’ ‘Where to now, Jack?’
    â€˜Let’s find the railway station. We can buy two tickets to Kalgoorlie.’
    Their tickets purchased on the ‘Kalgoorlie Miner’, an overnight steam train that ran from Perth to Kalgoorlie, they checked the departure time with the stationmaster then stowed the tickets safely in their bags.
    â€˜We gotta bit of time, Harry, let’s see if those white swans are real or not.’
    Finding a bakery they