text: Helping out his aunt Katie's farm as a boy had prepared Luke for hard work, but not for the dangers at sea. On his second tripLuke served as night watchman. His job was to check on all the animals every hour. One rainy night, After making his hourly report to the captain, he slid down a slippery ladder on his backside. Luke's heart raced as he shot feet first towardan opening on the side of the ship. A small strip of metal along the edge stopped his slide, keeping him from flying overboard into the dark Atlantic. He was happyto be alive. But he couldn't work a couple of days because of cracked ribs.