Chapter 29 Chapter 9 Searching Again

The next day, August 27th, before sunrise, Benito took Manoel aside and said to him: Yesterday was a day in vain.If I look for it like this again today, I'm afraid I won't have better luck! But there is always something to be found.Manoel replied. Yes, continued Benito, but if Torres' body is not found, can you tell me how long it will take for the body to rise to the surface? If Torres, Manoel replied, was alive and not drowned violently, it might take five or six days.But he fell into the water due to fatal injuries, and it would take about two or three days for him to come up.

Manoel's answer is so true that an explanation is needed here. Anyone can float after falling into the water, as long as the proportion of the human body and the water layer reaches a balance.Of course, this refers to people who cannot swim.In this case, if the whole body is submerged in water and only the nose and mouth are exposed to the water, the body will float.But that's usually not the case.The first action of the drowning person is to struggle to get as much of the body out of the water as possible; raise the head and raise the arms, and these parts of the body will not lose weight as if they are completely submerged due to the loss of water support. Hence the overweight and finally complete submersion.In fact, water enters the lungs through the mouth and finally sinks to the bottom.

On the contrary, if a person enters the water after death, the situation is very different, and it will be easier to float, because the actions mentioned above are impossible for him. It will flood his lungs, and he will come up faster. It makes sense, therefore, for Manoel to distinguish between the drowning of the living and the dead, since the former must necessarily take longer to surface than the latter. As for the submerged corpse reappearing on the water surface, it is entirely due to the decay of the corpse, which generates gas, which causes the cell tissue to expand; the volume of the corpse increases but the weight does not increase, so the corpse is lighter than the weight of the water it displaces, so it floats up. It has the necessary conditions to float on the water.

Thus, Manoel went on, despite the favorable circumstances, since Torres was dead when he fell into the water, his body would not surface for three days, unless some unforeseen circumstance accelerated the decay. We don't have three days left!Benito replied, we can't wait, you know that!It should be searched again, but in another way! What do you want?asked Manoel. I dive myself to the bottom of the river, says Benito, seek with my eyes, with my hands Dive into it a hundred times, a thousand times!exclaimed Manoel, that's it!I'm the same as you, I think we should go straight to find it today, and stop fumbling around with those trawl nets and long poles!I also don't think we can wait for three days!But diving up and down, these can only guarantee a short-term search.no!It's not enough, it probably won't work, and we might just fail again!

So what else do you suggest to me, Manoel?asked Benito, looking straight at his friend. Listen to me, there is a situation that can be said to be God's providence, which can help us! Say it!Say it! Yesterday, while passing through Manao, I saw someone repairing a pier on the banks of the Negro River.These river bottom projects are carried out in diving suits.Let's borrow this thing, rent it, or buy it for whatever money.This way we can salvage the body more smoothly! Go and tell Aroro, Fragoso, and all of us, let's set off immediately!Benito said impatiently. The helmsman and the barber learned that Manoel's plans had decided that they would take four boats with the Indians to the bend of the Foria River, where they would wait for the two young men.

Without delaying a minute, Manoel and Benito disembarked from the big raft and arrived at the pier in Manao.They paid the contractor a lot of money on the docks.When the contractor got the money, he hurriedly handed over the equipment to them to use for a whole day. Do you want me to send someone out to help?he asked. Send us a foreman and some workmen to work the air pumps!Manoel replied. But who wears a wetsuit? I.replied Benito. Benito, you!Manoel exclaimed. I would love to do it! No amount of dissuasion will help. An hour later the raft, with the pump and all necessary implements on it, was rowing straight below the bank, where the boat was waiting.

We all know what a diving suit is, with which you can go down into the water and stay there for a while without affecting the movement of your lungs in the slightest.Divers wear impermeable rubber suits and lead-soled shoes to keep their bodies upright in the water.There is a copper hoop at the neck of the collar, on which a metal ball is screwed, and the front wall of the ball is inlaid with a layer of glass.The diver's head is set inside the ball and can be turned freely.There are two tubes connected to the ball: one is used to expel the unclean gas exhaled from the lungs; the other is connected to the air pump running on the ship to supply the fresh air needed for breathing.When the diver needs to work on the spot, the raft stops above him; when the diver walks back and forth on the river bed, the raft moves with him, or he moves with the raft, depending on the negotiation between him and the working group .

These wetsuits perform great and take less risk than before.The diver has no trouble adapting to the weight he is under.In this case, if there is one thing to worry about, it is encountering caimans in deep water.But as Aroro said, none of the amphibians had been seen the day before, and they are known to prefer the murky waters of the tributaries of the Amazon.Besides, no matter what dangers arise, the diver can always pull the bell rope tied to the raft, and as soon as the bell rings, he can be quickly pulled to the surface of the water. Benito remained calm as soon as he had made a decision to carry it out; he put on his diving suit; his head was wrapped in a metal ball; Grass and debris piled up, and with a gesture, he sank into the water.

The people on the raft were already used to this kind of work, and immediately operated the air pump. At the same time, the four Indians on the big raft, under the command of Aloro, slowly steered the air in the agreed direction with their long poles. Moving the raft. Two canoes, one rowed by Fragoso and one by Manoel and two others, escorted the raft, ready to go forward or back, should Benito finally find Torres' body, four boats Just pull him out of the Amazon.