rocking horse qustion

"They read it in each other's eyes. "

This infers that no one could hide their real emotions.... their fears or desires could be seen in their eyes.

"...his eyes had a strange glare in them."

Paul was not himself, and his mind was somewhere else.

The child, flushed and with eyes blazing, was curiously serene.

Paul's eyes were not those of a child who is mentally alert.... it's almost as if he's seized by a fever.