Past the Shallows Read Free

competing. Heath? Is that his name?’
    Harry nodded.

    Inside the marquee they sat on plastic seats near the front. It was crowded and the competitors in their white t-shirts were
     already standing on the centre stage of grass, checking their equipment. Harry recognised Heath Roberts. He was the skinniest
     man up there, but he had the most hair – thick blond hair just like his brother Justin. Justin had been in Miles’s year at
     school.
    The first four men took their positions on top of the huge logs. The starter gun fired, and four sharp metal axes swung through
     the air. Wood chips went flying and the metal swung and swung. It was making Harry hot, all the movement and noise, all the
     metal slicing into wood. And it wouldn’t stop, the hack, hack, hack. And the crowd were grunting and yelling and a man next
     to him kept screaming, ‘Come on, boy, come on!’
    Harry tugged on Aunty Jean’s coat sleeve.
    ‘What is it?’ she said, but she didn’t move her eyes. They stayed with the axes, stayed fixed on the men.
    Harry tugged harder. ‘I feel sick,’ he said.
    ‘Damn! Heath’s out.’
    The metal noise stopped, and the crowd clapped and cheered. Harry looked over and a big bald manwith a sweaty head had busted through his log. It lay on the grass in two pointy pieces.
    ‘I feel sick,’ Harry said again.
    Aunty Jean looked at him now. ‘Yes, you do look pale. Go and get some fresh air and come and get me if you need me. I want
     to see the final.’
    She turned her attention back to the action and Harry pushed his way through to the exit before the next heat started. Out
     in the light, away from the noise and crowd, he started to feel better. He could breathe again. He could think about the show
     bags.
    Cadbury’s bags were the best. They had the most chocolate, but they were pricey. Four bucks. He bought one for Miles, and
     one for himself, and he looked at the He-Man bag. It was OK, with a face mask, colouring book and a plastic belt, but he decided
     it was probably better to get Stuart a lolly bag. He got a Redskins bag because it had stacks of Redskins, Choo-Choos and
     Toffee Apples. He got one for himself, too, and a Bertie Beetle bag because it was cheap and came with a cowboy hat and an
     orange dart gun. Then he bought two hot American donuts and a can of lemonade.
    He had $4.50 left.
    He sat down on a patch of grass that overlooked the water. The Tasman Bridge was a giant concreteframe and underneath it the Regatta was all going on. Rowing races, sail boats, larger ferries patrolling up and down with
     large colourful flags. Harry ate the donuts and felt good. Miles would love the Cadbury’s bag. He could give him a Redskin
     or a Toffee Apple, too, if he wanted.
    He saw one of the animal sheds and decided to go in. He wanted to make sure the chopping was over before he went back to Aunty
     Jean. Inside it was warm and smelled like manure. A huge bull gave him the evil eye as he scooted by. Harry didn’t care what
     people said about cows being dumb. He knew they were smart by the way they looked at you. They were just waiting to get you
     as soon as you turned your back.
    In the next aisle there were goats – white ones, brown ones, and a strange looking black and tan one with big ears. There
     were four babies with it and above the pen was a blue ribbon that said ‘Best In Show 1983’. Harry squatted down and stuck
     his hand through the bars. One of the babies ran over and tried to bite his thumb. It didn’t seem to have any teeth, so it
     didn’t hurt. After a few bites, it gave up and started rubbing the top of its head against Harry’s arm.
    ‘They’re real beauties, aren’t they?’
    Harry shot up. A tall man wearing overalls was standing right behind him.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ Harry said, and the baby goat bleated. It looked up to see where its scratching post had gone.
    ‘You’re all right, son,’ the man said. He had a lined, smiling face. He bent down and picked the