They’d set elaborate traps for wild animals and walked until their feet hurt. Sometimes they saw Jonah walking alone through the bush, but Mattie didn’t want to play with him. She said he had bad energy and the sign for energy was one finger pointed towards the shoulder, which flipped and fell to under the elbow like a rock tumbling down a mountain. It was a small sign, and there was hardly enough room for him and Mattie inside it, let alone Jonah. Occasionally Samson would feel sorry for his brother, but mostly he was happy to have Mattie all to himself. Between them, they used almost every possible sign. Samson told Mattie about Queensland, warm sandy beaches and pelicans, while Mattie explained the history of the mountain. Murray had told her most of what she knew, but they didn’t see much of him. He was busy with Mattie’s mum, Tilda. Mattie said it was good that Samson could sign too. She said everyone else in town talked until they were blue in the face, or red. Samson had never heard her speak, except for the clicks she made when she mouthed the words she was signing.
