"Do you ?" "I don't dream often, but I sometimes remember my dreams." "I dream much, and one dream I have constantly." "What is it ?" she asked with anticipation.
"It is the capture of a wild bird in a garden--in a cultivated garden where there are no nests, no coverts for the secret invaders.

I dream that I pursue the bird from flower-bed to flower-bed, from bush to bush, along paths and the green-covered walls; and I am not alone in my chase, for there are others pursuing.

It is a bitter struggle to win the wild thing.

And why?
Because there is pursuing one of the pursuers another bird of red plumage.

Do you understand ?" He paused, and saw her face was full of colour and her eyes had a glow.
Every nerve in her was pulsing hard.
"Tell me," she said presently, "whom do you mean by the bird of red plumage?
Is it a mere figure of speech?
Or has it a real meaning ?" "It has a real meaning." He rose to his feet, bent over her and spoke hotly.