Why Jack Jackman
Liked Living in Ward Street.
JACK JACKMAN LIKED LIVING in Ward Street because it was the stock route through Waharoa.
What he liked best was sitting on top of the gatepost and watching the mobs of sheep and cattle go past. Best of all was when the drovers and dogs came cracking whips, whistling, barking, and running a bad-tempered Jersey bull along Ward Street. That was so exciting, Jack once stood up and fell off the gatepost.
After that, he used to climb down and watch through the fence as the bull trundled past, rolling its little eye, and slavering dribble. Once, Jack poked out his tongue and was scared the bull had seen him. Another time, he heard a squelch from a bull’s insides, as it trotted past and, despite his terror, he thought it was crying and felt sorry for it.
“When I grow up, I’m going to be a drover,” he told his mother.
“We’ll see,” she told him.
“But I’m not going to chase the bulls till they cry.”
“They only push them through Waharoa, so they don’t have a chance to give any trouble. Once they’re out on the road again, away from the houses, they’ll take it easy.”
“Do you push me, so I don’t have a chance to give you any trouble?” Jack asked his mother.
“I do,” she said, “but once you get the other side of Waharoa, I’ll let you take it easy.”
“When will that be?”
“When you’ve grown up and can look after yourself,” his mother told him. She wasn’t grinning, but Jack wasn’t sure if she was having him on. He never could tell with his mother.
All that happened years ago, before Jack started school. His place was straight across Ward Street from the school, but when people said, “That’s handy for you. Do you like that?” he wasn’t sure.
The school doors, the windows, the gate in the hedge, even the big gate into the horse paddock were all shut for the long holidays. The place looked as good as dead, so Jack didn’t even glance at the school, the day he trotted past towards the other end of Ward Street.
Jack Jackman may not have been sure about living so close to the school, but he sure liked living in Ward Street. Ward Street was the stock route through Waharoa!