Jack & Harry Read Online Free Page A

real answer for this so they just sat, each consumed by his own thoughts until Jack’s dad called out to them. ‘Come on you two, better get something to eat.’ Then he added with a wink and a smile to the people gathered at the BBQ. ‘You won’t get good tucker like this in the lock-up.’
    It was a joke that was totally lost on the two boys who stared at each other in horror.
    After a while, with a few beers, and friendly conversation, the tension of the bike episode began to fade and everyone relaxed around the barbecue. Alice and the wives set salads out on the trestle table and Jack put a big metal tray of cooked lamb chops and burnt sausages in the centre. ‘Help yourselves, folks, don’t stand on ceremony around here.’
    After they had all eaten their fill and the kids had demolished all the sausages, bread, icecream and rockmelon and consumed gallons of raspberry cordial, the wives retreated inside. They said they would ‘do the dishes’ and get a cup of tea so the men settled back in the shade on the lawn to sink a few ‘cleansing ales’ as Jack liked to call them and have a yarn together. Young Jack and Harry, being grounded, sat on the verandah and listened to the adults talk. Jack liked this time when his father relaxed with his mates and shared tales and experiences. Jack often picked up a few pointers for life as they talked about where they had been and the people they met.
    â€˜You were up in the Territory recently, weren’t you, Jack?’ Claude asked.
    â€˜Yes, that was interesting but the most interesting part of the trip was coming back down and through Coober Pedy.’
    â€˜Coober Pedy? What was that like? I’ve heard about it.’ Alice and the women by this time had completed the washing up and now joined their husbands with cups of tea in hands.
    â€˜Hang on.’ Eric reached into the ice tub to get another bottle of beer, opened it and began to fill the glasses. ‘Once Jack gets going with one of his stories we could all die from thirst.’ Everyone laughed at his good-natured ribbing.
    Jack took a long draught from his glass. ‘Ahh, that’s good, Emu Bitter, can’t beat it. Travel all over and try lots of beers but it’s good to get home to a real beer.’
    â€˜Get on with the story, Jack,’ Alice prompted.
    â€˜Well,’ Jack continued. ‘We were up at Anna Creek station buying cattle and decided to come back through Coober Pedy just for a look. It’s an amazing place, like somewhere from another planet. Everyone lives underground up there.’
    â€˜Is that because of the heat?’ Queried Eric.
    â€˜Certainly gets hot up there and it’s a lot cooler to live underground but it’s also practical in that you can dig for opal and build a home at the same time. Bugger of a place to get building materials into anyhow.’
    â€˜Must be interesting. What are the people like there, are there families?’ Eve asked.
    â€˜A few I guess but mostly blokes of all sorts and nationalities. Mostly on the run from something they say. Alimony payments, broken homes … the law.’
    â€˜Bad lot then?’ Claude’s comment was more a question than a statement.
    â€˜No, not really. They have a pretty tight unwritten law of their own up there and everyone keeps to themselves. They ask no questions and give no information about where they’re from or about their past. No one seems to mind that, in fact it’s expected. Part of the culture.’
    Jack and Harry were listening intently to this information as they sat quietly in the shadows on the verandah. ‘Did you hear that, Harry?’ Jack whispered.
    â€˜Do they make much of a living, Jack, up there in Coober Pedy? Opal, isn’t it, they dig for?’ Jim leaned forward and stubbed his cigarette out in the jam tin ashtray on the table.
    â€˜Some don’t but others make an absolute fortune.