"But you forgot the eyes," her mother said tenderly. "They are pretty
brown and look--ach, I can't put it in fine words like you could, but I
mean this: Your eyes are such honest eyes and always look so happy,
like you could see through dark places and find the light and could
look on wicked people and see the good in them and be glad about it.
You keep that look in your eyes and no pretty girl will be lovelier
that you are, Amanda."
"Mother," the girl cried after she had kissed the white-capped woman,
"if my eyes shine it's the faith and love you taught me that's shining
in them."
During the summer preceding Amanda's departure for school there was
pleasant excitement at the Reist farm. Millie was proud of the fact
that Amanda was "goin' to Millersville till fall" and lost no
opportunity to mention it whenever a friend or neighbor dropped in
for a chat.
Aunt Rebecca did not approve of too much education. "Of course," she
put it, "you're spendin' your own money for this Millersville goin',
but I think you'd do better if you put it to bank and give it to Amanda
when she gets married, once. This here rutchin' round to school so long
is all for nothin'. I guess she's smart enough to teach country school
without goin' to Millersville yet."
However, her protests fell heedlessly on the ears of those most
concerned and when the preparation of new clothes began Aunt Rebecca
was the first to offer her help. "It's all for nothin', this school
learnin', but if she's goin' anyhow I can just as well as not help with
the sewin'," she announced and spent a few weeks at the Reist farm,
giving valuable aid in the making of Amanda's school outfit.
Those two weeks were long ones to Philip, who had scant patience with
the querulous old aunt. But Amanda, since she had glimpsed the girlhood
romance of the woman, had a kindlier feeling for her and could smile at
the faultfinding or at least run away from it without retort if it
became too vexatious.
Crow Hill was only an hour's ride from the school at Millersville, so
Amanda spent most of her weekends at home. Each time she had
wonderful tales to tell, at least they seemed wonderful to the little
group at the Reist farmhouse. Mrs. Reist and Uncle Amos, denied in
their youth of more than a very meagre education, took just pride in
the girl who was pursuing the road to knowledge. Philip, boylike,
expressed no pride in his sister, but he listened attentively to her
stories of how the older students played pranks on the newcomers.
Millie was proud of having _our Amanda_ away at school and did not
hesitate to express her pride. She felt sure that before the girl's
three years' course was completed the name of Amanda Reist would shine
above all others on the pages of the Millersville Normal School
records.