An instant later the plane hit the ground with terrific force, but fortunately in the middle of a soft spot of mud and water which greatly reduced the shock. As it was, the jolt knocked Tom and Mary down, stunning them as they were crushed back into their seats, so that for a few seconds after the forced landing they did not realize what was happening.
Mary was the first to recover her senses. She struggled to a position where she could look over the side of the cockpit and at once cried:
“Tom! We’re sinking! We’re almost submerged!”
By this time the young inventor had aroused and, pulling himself to the edge of the cabin space, he glanced over.
“We’re in a bad hole!” he exclaimed.
He learned later that the plane had gone down in what was virtually a quicksand in the cranberry bog—a place shunned by all who knew its dangers.
“What’s to be done, Tom?” cried Mary. “We got out of the nose dive just in time, but if we’re going to sink in this bog it will be just as bad, though not so quick!”
She saw, in fancy, a slow, terrible death by suffocation in the mud and water.
“Let’s jump out and try to wade to solid ground!” she went on.
“No! No! Don’t do that!” yelled Tom. “It would be sure death! The plane will hold us up for a time—perhaps until help comes.”