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way. You understand me, don’t you?’
    The badger backed slightly. Lorna was so huge and imposing. ‘Er – yes. Yes, I understand.’
    ‘Even humans keep away from here,’ Lorna continued, ‘so, you see, it’s a sort of secret place.’ She yawned and stretched her mighty limbs. ‘Of course, I’m happy to have you nearby, you know.’
    ‘Nearby. Yes,’ the badger echoed. The position was clear enough and he accepted it. He lifted a back leg and scratched his belly. He wasn’t afraid of Lorna but he was aware of her strength and respected it. ‘I’ll leave you, then, lion,’ he said and trotted away. He turned once to look at her majestic figure and paused in admiration. ‘There’s nothing to rival her here,’ he murmured.
    Lorna already felt her position of supremacy in the forest. Her stature gave her a new assurance. At times she heard human voices, but as her knowledge of the woodland grew she found it easy to evade any attempt to recapture her. The men were frustrated at every turn and realised they needed new tactics. It was decided to use dogs for the first time to try to flush Lorna fromcover. In that way the men hoped to have just time enough to dart and sedate her.
    Lorna had no experience of dogs and the men knew that. ‘She won’t know how to deal with them,’ Martin said. ‘They’ll confuse her. It’ll be our best chance yet. She’s become too wary. Even the police helicopter couldn’t pinpoint her. But the dogs’ll make a difference.’
    A working bloodhound with its handler was hired. The dog was introduced to Lorna’s scent at the zoo and set on her trail. The men followed with a pair of bull mastiffs which were to be used to keep the lioness at bay. These dogs were utterly fearless but, just as Lorna had no knowledge of dogs, so the dogs had never seen a lion.
    By now Lorna’s range in the forest was extensive. She knew the best places to stalk deer and where the rabbit runs were. Twice more she had encountered and killed foxes. She had learnt always to listen for unusual sounds in the daytime. She knew that humans preferred the daylight hours. On the morning when Martin led his team of men and dogs into the forest by the usual route, Lorna was in her lair. But she wasn’t sleeping. An overpowering thirst kept her wakeful and she returned continually to the stream to drink. The bloodhound picked up her scent very quickly and bayed deeply. Lorna raised her head. It was a sound she didn’t recognise. But she knew it was an animal sound and, to Lorna, an animal sound in these woods meant possible prey.
    She was alert and curious at once. She left the cave, intent on investigating. Silent as ever, she travelled beneath the trees. The men were not so silent. They had given the bloodhound its head and were now hurrying to keep up with it. The bull mastiffs trotted atthe men’s side. Lorna soon detected the men’s hasty steps and took her customary evasive action. She set forth on a wide detour, taking her to the fringe of the woodland and bringing her round to the men’s rear. The loud snuffling of the bull mastiffs, who breathed badly, intrigued Lorna and she followed in their wake.
    Meanwhile the bloodhound was becoming confused. Lorna’s scent was everywhere in the forest. The hound tried to keep its nose to the freshest trail but the lioness’s tracks were a sort of maze. They diverged here, met up again there, dividing and rejoining constantly. Finally the hound found the most recent scent and barked in excitement. It bounded along then on the very route Lorna had taken that morning. The men were outdistanced and found it difficult to keep the bloodhound in view. Lorna, however, was ready for it.
    She heard the dog’s triumphant bark and took cover. Shortly afterwards she saw the bloodhound approaching. To Lorna the animal resembled nothing she had ever seen before, except that there was some slight similarity in the way it moved to that of a fox. Lorna knew all about foxes.