With the boys getting ready for their flat boat trip to New Orleans, something's not right at the Eagle Tavern. Serious problems lie ahead. Deep thinking is needed to solve it. The return of the Shakespeare spouting Steamboat Captain Amos Beacon might be the solution. But, to quote Himself "I doubt it."

What flows down the Ohio should remain downriver. Sometimes things wash up on shore. They are quickly set adrift. As the boys get ready to take their flatboat to New Orleans, discordant notes disrupt their harmony. The time has come for all of them to look in the mirror.

Before Tolkien dreamt of Middle Earth, there was once a place called Hollow Earth. It was quite the topic of debate in the 1820's. War of 1812 hero Captain John Cleves Symmes, believed the earth was composed of five concentric spheres. He stops by the Eagle Tavern trying to recruit the boys to join him on his voyage of discovery.