In Chap­ter V of “The Cir­cus Boys On the Mis­sis­sip­pi,” Mr. Spar­ling, the cir­cus own­er, invites Phil and Ted­dy for a mys­te­ri­ous walk after instruct­ing all per­form­ers to pack up, spark­ing curios­i­ty and gos­sip among the show peo­ple due to the unusu­al com­mand to pre­pare to leave the train. As they mean­der through the town and approach the riv­er, the boys’ won­der grows until they spot three yel­low boats with “The Spar­ling Com­bined Shows” paint­ed on the side, reveal­ing Mr. Spar­ling’s sur­prise plan to take the cir­cus down the Mis­sis­sip­pi Riv­er on steam­boats.

Phil and Ted­dy are aston­ished and excit­ed by this nov­el mode of trav­el. Spar­ling explains his inno­v­a­tive strat­e­gy, aimed at giv­ing the cir­cus a unique edge by per­form­ing on both sides of the riv­er through­out the sea­son, thus extend­ing their engage­ment pos­si­bil­i­ties. The boats, the “Riv­er Queen,” “Mary Jane,” and “Nemah,” are pre­pared to house the per­form­ers and equip­ment, with alter­ations made to accom­mo­date the cir­cus’s needs. Spar­ling’s inven­tive approach is met with enthu­si­asm by the boys, despite Ted­dy’s ini­tial skep­ti­cism about trav­el­ing on a pad­dle-wheel boat.

The idea of a trav­el­ing cir­cus on the Mis­sis­sip­pi is both a logis­ti­cal chal­lenge and a promis­ing adven­ture. The “Riv­er Queen” and “Mary Jane” are humor­ous­ly renamed “Yel­low Per­il” and “Fat Marie” by the boys, while “Nemah” is dubbed “Lit­tle Nemo,” reflect­ing their excite­ment and play­ful engage­ment with this new ven­ture. Spar­ling’s detailed plan­ning assures that every aspect of the circus—from lodg­ing per­form­ers to trans­port­ing ele­phants and equipment—is con­sid­ered, ensur­ing a smooth tran­si­tion from train to river­boat.

As the cir­cus com­mu­ni­ty buzzes with antic­i­pa­tion over this unprece­dent­ed move, Phil and Ted­dy return to the lot, ener­gized and eager to share the news. Their enthu­si­asm is infec­tious, and the cir­cus per­for­mances that fol­low are exe­cut­ed with excep­tion­al zeal, cap­ti­vat­ing the town with their dar­ing acts. This chap­ter sets the stage for the adven­tures ahead as the Spar­ling Cir­cus embarks on a unique jour­ney down the Mis­sis­sip­pi, blend­ing the tra­di­tion­al allure of the cir­cus with the nov­el­ty of river­boat trav­el.