Character Analysis
Henry gives Dr. Moore, his employer, a stamp of approval as soon as they meet. "He's a good man, too, I can tell you—a doctor" (6.7), Henry tells the other kids. Henry's instincts are good: Dr. Moore is a fatherly figure who clearly cares for the Boxcar Children. He worries about them enough to go secretly scope out their boxcar—"I wanted to see if you had enough to eat and enough dishes" (12.80), he tells the kids—and when Violet becomes ill, he immediately takes all four Alden children into his home, where they stay while she recovers. He even stays up with her the first night.
What's interesting about Dr. Moore is that he's a little bit sneaky. No doubt part of it comes from a place of wanting to earn the children's trust; he knows if he pries too much into Henry's life, he might scare the boy away. The doctor is the first person who figures out that Mr. Alden is the children's grandfather, but he takes his sweet time in letting anyone else know—even though he knows full well the four children are homeless and living in the woods. This seems at least a tiny bit irresponsible, no? Still, we're never meant to question the doctor's integrity. When Mr. Alden offers him a $5,000 reward for finding the children, the doctor rejects it, saying, "I just want these children to be happy" (12.9). Dr. Moore is so good that he thinks do-gooding is its own reward.
Dr. Moore's Timeline