“Good no more for them blackfellas”.
So began the longest conversation Gino had ever had with her. For the first time she seemed to want to talk, and indeed went into considerable detail because she needed his support for some serious decisions she had made.
Beyond the barrier of the language, he understood clearly enough that there had been a corroboree in some far-off place and that the old man had wanted to go. Giovanni was to take part in the initiation ceremony. This was what they had been talking about at such length the day before they went away. Doris had insisted on discussing the matter with other members of the tribe, because she believed it was no longer in Giovanni’s interest to submit to the traditional practices and carry the evidence for the rest of his life in the scars
