Luke just got out of high school. He now has two jobs, one at the store the other at a bank. Then out of thin air his friend don ivites him to go on a trip. Don was going to Europe on a cattle boat to help people in ruins from World War II. so Luke thinks, this is a opportunity of a lifetime so he said yes to Don.

So they get on the boat where they are taking 335 horses plus their food. The whole crew takes turn caring for them. There are also nightwatch men who watch the animals through out the night. On one rainy night Luke was the watchman he went to tell the captain his hourly report. After he did he slid down a slippery ladder and landed on his backside. His heart raced as he shot feet first toward an opening on the side of the ship. A small piece of metal stopped him from going overboard. He was happy to be alive but he could not work for a few days because he had cracked ribs.

He turned 18 on a trip to Greece, which meant he could be drafted for military service. When his draft board found out that he was on a cattle boat trip they told him to keep doing trips. Lukes most fun times where on the way back from somewhere. Because they had dropped off all of the animals so they could play in the huge place where they had been.

And after all of the adventures he was happy that he had the opportunity to do that it really opened up the world to him.