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She crouched behind her screen of undergrowth, preparing to pounce.
    The bloodhound’s head was up as the lioness sprang but the dog never knew what hit it. Lorna’s crushing weight drove the breath from its body and her jaws fastened on its throat. But she didn’t have time to carry off her kill. The men were approaching. Lorna hesitated, then dropped the carcass and loped quietly away unseen, snarling to herself in exasperation.
    The dog-handler was the first on the scene. ‘My God, Martin! Look at this!’
    The rest of the men trudged up, breathing heavily. The handler was on his knees, examining the remains of the unfortunate bloodhound. The bull mastiffs sniffed at the carcass with puzzled expressions.
    Martin looked strained. ‘This is awful,’ he said. Then, angrily, ‘She’s not to get away with this! She can’t be far. Come on, lads. Let’s go after her.’
    None of the others was keen. ‘I can’t leave Bruno like this,’ the dog-handler said, looking sadly at the bloodhound. ‘I have to take him back.’
    ‘Yes. Yes, I’m sorry. This is a tragedy,’ said Martin. ‘We’ll help. You can use the sling to carry him. Brian, Dean, will you help? Take Bruno to the car. Then come back and join the rest of us.’ He wiped a hand wearily over his face. ‘I can’t say how sorry I am about all this. It’s just . . . unbelievable.’
    ‘It’s a cruel waste,’ said the dog-handler. ‘Bruno couldn’t have stood a chance.’ He shook his head. The bloodhound’s body was lifted on to the sling. ‘The mastiffs are no good to you now,’ he said. ‘They’re not tracking dogs.’
    ‘I’d like to keep them a bit if we may,’ the leader replied. ‘They make us feel less vulnerable.’
    The handler nodded. ‘As you like, but keep them on their leads. We don’t want any more accidents. If you come up with the beast, they’ll play their part. But I wouldn’t think you stand much chance now.’ He turned to go.
    ‘Where will you be, boss?’ Brian asked as he and Dean lifted their burden, grunting with the weight. ‘Where will we find you?’
    ‘Round about here. If Lorna has left this area we’ll call it a day. But I think she’s lurking nearby. She’ll be thinking about her—’ He broke off. He’d been about to say ‘kill’ but it was too sensitive a word while the dog-handler was still within earshot. ‘You know what I mean,’ he finished in an undertone.
    The three men departed. Those remaining had lost heart. The lioness was too clever for them, too strong and too savage. She had everything in her favour andthey weren’t happy about that. But Martin was determined to continue. Beset by constant failure and reversals, and under increasing pressure from their employers on the national newspaper, the team needed somehow to justify themselves. Martin knew it and wouldn’t give up. Besides, he was furious at being outwitted once again.
    Lorna was lying up in some bracken, well hidden, but still in the vicinity. Martin had been right: she hadn’t forgotten her abandoned meal. The men, with very little enthusiasm, began their search. All of them, Martin included, had the same uncomfortable feeling of being watched. The bull mastiffs felt the men’s tension and stiffened visibly. Lorna was supremely quiet and still. She could see the human figures in the near distance. They never came very close.
    Eventually Brian and Dean rejoined the group. All the men wanted to quit the forest. They had had nothing but bad luck in it, and didn’t think they had the remotest chance of any success.
    ‘We’re not achieving anything here,’ one complained. ‘Let’s leave. It’s an impossible job.’
    There were murmurings of assent.
    ‘You want her to beat us?’ Martin said accusingly. ‘One wretched animal against eight men?’
    ‘She’s not just any animal,’ Dean reminded him. ‘There’s no shame in it, boss. We’ve done our best.’
    ‘No.’ Martin shook his head. ‘We haven’t. And