Anthony was beside her, lifting Kipchoge’s head. His eyes were still wide open, and they saw in the torchlight that a series of murderous slashes had ripped through his whole body, almost severing one of his arms that dangled from his shoulder.

‘He’s dead, Sarah.’ Anthony held the sobbing girl close to him, trying to calm her and to turn her head away from the horrible sight. ‘I don’t know how he survived long enough to get here. Was he able to say anything?’

Sarah shook her head, fear and revulsion rushing over her in waves. Anthony was looking over the ground.

‘It must be poachers,’ he said. ‘But they don’t seem to be armed. Only pangas, it looks like. Or they were saving their ammunition for something larger.’

Hannah was on her knees beside Kipchoge, her face like parchment in the moonlight.

‘Where has he come from? How did he get here with those injuries? Piet must be nearby, because Kipchoge would never have left him, especially if he was hurt too.’ She began to shout at the top of her voice, calling out his name with desperate terror, her voice rising to a shriek. ‘Piet? Piet, where are you? Piet, answer me for God’s sake! Piet?’ She turned to Anthony. ‘What about Simon? Maybe Piet and Simon went after the poachers. If there are too many of them, they’ll have to hide. Oh God. Oh God, what is happening here, what’s happening to us all?’

She had begun to sob hysterically when one of the farm workers appeared beside Anthony.

‘Bwana, the Land Rover is behind some trees at the back of the stores. There has been a fight. Ole Sunde, the watchman, is there.’

‘Where is he? Is he saying anything?’ Anthony helped Hannah up and they ran down the steps and round to the stores. Piet’s vehicle was parked deep in the clearing. Beside the open door lay his dog, her body sliced through with powerful blades. In her jaws she was still clenching fragments of cloth and what looked like flesh.

‘She did for someone before she was finished,’ Anthony said, resting his hand for a second on her big brown head. ‘I hope she hurt him bad.’

Close to the staff quarters they found the watchman lying face down on the ground, a dark pool of blood gathering around his head.

‘Jesus God Almighty,’ Anthony said, turning over the old Maasai to find his eyes glazed in death.