The sentences S1 and S6 are fixed: "There were shots as I ran." and "Staying submerged was only too easy with so much clothing and my army boots." Arrange the sentences P, Q, R, and S in the most logical order to complete the paragraph.

Introduction / Context:
This question presents a short narrative about a person escaping while shots are being fired. The first and last sentences, labelled S1 and S6, are fixed. You must arrange the middle sentences P, Q, R, and S in correct order. Such para jumbles test your understanding of narrative flow, cause and effect, and temporal sequence in storytelling.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- S1: "There were shots as I ran."
- S6: "Staying submerged was only too easy with so much clothing and my army boots."
The middle sentences are:
- S: "I ducked down, pushed between two men and ran for the river."
- Q: "I tripped at the edge and went in with a splash."
- R: "The minute I came up I took a breath and plunged down again."
- P: "The water was icy, but I stayed until I thought my lungs would burst."
We assume this is one continuous incident of running, jumping into a river, and hiding under water.

Concept / Approach:
Narratives usually follow a chronological order: escaping danger, reaching a river, falling in, surfacing, diving again, and finally staying under water. We must place each sentence where it naturally fits in this sequence. Clues like "ran for the river", "at the edge", "came up", and "stayed until" clearly map out stages of the action.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: After S1 ("There were shots as I ran"), the obvious continuation is S: "I ducked down, pushed between two men and ran for the river." This explains how and where the narrator is running. Step 2: Once the narrator reaches the river, the next natural event is reaching its edge. Q says: "I tripped at the edge and went in with a splash." That fits immediately after running to the river. Step 3: After falling into the water, the narrator resurfaces. R states: "The minute I came up I took a breath and plunged down again." This logically follows Q because a person who has just fallen in will surface and then deliberately dive again to hide. Step 4: Finally, P reads: "The water was icy, but I stayed until I thought my lungs would burst." This describes a prolonged stay under water, just before S6 elaborates that staying submerged was easy due to heavy clothing and boots. Step 5: Thus, the correct order of the middle sentences is S Q R P, which corresponds to option "S Q R P".

Verification / Alternative check:
Combine everything: "There were shots as I ran. I ducked down, pushed between two men and ran for the river. I tripped at the edge and went in with a splash. The minute I came up I took a breath and plunged down again. The water was icy, but I stayed until I thought my lungs would burst. Staying submerged was only too easy with so much clothing and my army boots." The story now reads smoothly. Any other order breaks the logical progression between action steps.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- "S Q P R": Places P before R, meaning the narrator stays under water before they even resurface to breathe and dive again, which is illogical.
- "P R Q S" and "Q S P R": These sequences ignore clear temporal signals like "at the edge" and "came up", resulting in confusion about the order of falling in and diving again.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes rely only on the content's dramatic appeal, not the chronological cues. Always pay attention to words like "at the edge", "came up", "ran for", and "stayed". These phrases anchor the sequence of events. When S1 and S6 are fixed, test each combination to see which one bridges them most naturally with no contradictions.

Final Answer:
The correct logical order of the middle sentences is S Q R P.