Even more than his mare, Vronsky longed to see Gladiator, whom he had never seen.

But he knew that by the etiquette of the race course it was not merely impossible for him to see the horse, but improper even to ask questions about him.

Just as he was passing along the passage, the boy opened the door into the second horse-box on the left, and Vronsky caught a glimpse of a big chestnut horse with white legs.

He knew that this was Gladiator, but, with the feeling of a man turning away from the sight of another man's open letter, he turned round and went into Frou-Frou's stall.