poster show!â said Jessie. âIt will be hard to pick out the best ones, though.â
âI know which poster Iâm choosing,â said Jessie, and she carefully picked up the one Beth had made of Jessie walking Watch, to advertise dog walking.
So Beth and Henry and Violet each chose a poster and went up to the house to show their work to Grandfather Alden.
âOhâmaybe we should bring one of Bennyâs, too,â Beth suggested. âIâll run back and get one.â
âOkay,â said Jessie as Beth headed back to the boxcar.
Grandfather Alden was in his study with a tall dark-haired man. When Grandfather looked up and saw the children standing at the door, he motioned for them to come in. âI have some people here youâll be glad to see,â Grandfather said to his guest.
The man turned and smiled. âYour grandchildren!â he said.
âDr. Moore,â said Henry. He shook hands with Dr. Moore. Then Jessie and Violet did, too.
Dr. Moore had given Henry work when the Aldens were living in their boxcar, before Grandfather found them. It was Dr. Moore who had figured out the mystery of Grandfatherâs missing grandchildren. And it was Dr. Moore who had helped bring Grandfather Alden and the Alden children together at last.
âWhat do you have here?â asked Dr. Moore, noticing the colorfully painted poster boards.
âWeâve started a job service called The Boxcar Helpers. We want to help raise money for the new wing at the Greenfield Hospital,â explained Jessie.
âA wonderful idea,â said Dr. Moore. He looked around. âBut where is Benny?â
âHere I am,â said Benny. âI was in the kitchen with Mrs. McGregor.â
âWeâve brought some of our posters to show off to Grandfather,â Jessie told Dr. Moore.
âI brought one of yours, too, Benny. Here,â Beth said, coming into the study with another poster.
The Aldens introduced Beth to Dr. Moore. Then Benny took his poster and held it up proudly.
âItâs excellent, Benny,â said Grandfather. âAll of them are.â He paused and looked more closely at the one that Jessie was holding. âJessie, that looks like you and Watch.â
âIt is. Beth drew it,â Jessie said.
âVery good, Beth.â Grandfather nodded approvingly, his eyes twinkling. âI think with posters like these, you will have plenty of people calling with jobs.â
âDo you want a new wing built at the Greenfield Hospital, Dr. Moore?â asked Violet.
Dr. Moore looked surprised. âOf course I do, Violet. Why?â
Violet and the others told Dr. Moore about the conversation theyâd overheard at the hospital between Mr. Alvarez and the angry doctor.
Dr. Moore looked thoughtful. âYes, it is true,â he said. âBeing from Silver City myself, I know some of my neighbors were very upset when the board decided not to build a new hospital there. But I thought everyone had accepted the idea by now. I didnât realize there were still problems.â
He looked at the Aldens and Beth. âBut donât let that stop you. I will certainly recommend you for any jobs I hear about. I know youâre good workers.â
âAnd weâll make lots of money,â crowed Benny. âLetâs go make lots more posters. Soon we will have enough.â
As the Aldens walked back to the boxcar with Beth, they explained who Dr. Moore was. Jessie told Beth how Violet had gotten sick while they were all living in the boxcar, and how Dr. Moore had taken her to his house and made her well again.
Suddenly Benny shouted âLook!â An odd sight met their eyes. On the stump outside the boxcar were footprintsâbrightly colored paint footprints.
The children looked into the boxcar, where they saw more footprints. âOh, no!â Jessie cried. The posters were no longer lined up neatly against the wall to dry.