Miguel was still looking at Matheus with a stern expression.
"Very well," he finally said.
Matheus straightened his posture like a soldier awaiting a sentence.
Miguel pointed toward the main house.
"Go eat something."
Matheus blinked.
"Now?"
"Now," Miguel replied firmly. "And afterward go help your mother and your sister."
Matheus let out a small sigh.
"Yes, sir."
Before leaving, he cast a quick glance at Luis, as if to say we'll talk later.
Luis merely smiled faintly.
Matheus then mounted his horse again and rode back toward the house.
Miguel shook his head.
"That boy…"
Augusto chuckled quietly.
"He reminds me a little of you when you were young."
Miguel made a face.
"I hope not."
Augusto and Luis laughed.
After that, the three of them continued their tour of the estate.
They walked for several minutes until they reached a group of buildings farther away.
There, the smell of freshly cut wood filled the air.
Stacks of logs were piled near the entrance.
Inside the main shed was the sawmill.
A large sawing machine occupied the center of the space.
The sound of metal tools echoed throughout the building.
Miguel called out:
"Rafael!"
A man of about thirty appeared from behind the machine.
He had strong hands, clothes marked with grease, and sawdust stuck to his sleeves.
When he saw Augusto, he quickly removed his hat.
"Mr. Augusto."
"Mr. Miguel."
His eyes then turned to Luis.
"Young sir."
Miguel made the formal introductions.
"Rafael is responsible for the sawmill… and the estate's mechanical workshop."
Rafael nodded.
"Everything involving tools, machines, or repairs passes through me."
Augusto crossed his arms.
"And how are things here?"
Rafael made a small grimace.
"Actually… we've been having a small problem."
Miguel raised an eyebrow.
"A problem?"
Rafael pointed to the large sawing machine.
"The machine's belt keeps slipping off."
Luis looked at the equipment.
It was a large mechanical saw powered by a belt system that transferred force from a drive shaft to the blade.
Rafael continued:
"We had to replace the belt recently."
"The old one was already very worn."
He ran a hand over his head.
"The problem started after the replacement."
Miguel frowned.
"Is the new belt defective?"
Rafael shook his head.
"It doesn't seem to be."
He sighed.
"But it keeps slipping off the machine."
Augusto stepped closer to the structure.
"Have you discovered the reason yet?"
Rafael answered honestly.
"Not yet."
He pointed to the pulleys of the machine.
"I adjusted the tension."
"Checked the alignment."
"Reviewed the support structure."
Rafael sighed again.
"Nothing solved it completely."
He crossed his arms.
"But I'll keep trying."
While Rafael spoke, Luis had already moved closer to the machine.
His eyes analyzed every detail.
Pulleys.
Shafts.
Belt position.
Tension.
Wear.
He leaned slightly forward.
Rafael noticed and watched him with curiosity.
Luis then asked his first question.
"When exactly did the problems start?"
Rafael answered immediately.
"Right after the belt was replaced."
Luis nodded.
"Is the new belt exactly the same length as the old one?"
Rafael seemed a bit surprised by the question.
"Yes… at least it should be."
He thought for a moment.
"I ordered the same model."
Luis asked another question.
"Did you check whether the pulleys are perfectly aligned?"
Rafael replied:
"Yes."
"At least visually."
Luis ran his hand along the machine's structure.
"And the drive shaft?"
Rafael frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Luis explained calmly.
"If there's even a small misalignment in the shaft… the belt may start slipping off the pulley as it moves."
Rafael blinked.
The question was technical.
Very technical.
He began looking at Luis more carefully.
"I didn't check that with precision."
Luis nodded slowly.
He walked around the machine, observing the mechanism.
Augusto and Miguel remained silent.
Watching.
Luis thought for a few seconds.
Then he spoke.
"There are a few possibilities."
Rafael crossed his arms, interested.
"Which ones?"
Luis raised one finger.
"The new belt might have a slightly different width than the previous one."
Another finger.
"The pulleys might have slight lateral wear."
Third finger.
"Or the shaft might have a minimal misalignment… almost imperceptible to the naked eye."
Rafael was clearly surprised now.
"You understand these things?"
Luis shrugged.
"A little."
In truth, in his previous life, he had studied mechanical engineering.
And that machine, despite being simple, followed the same mechanical principles he already knew very well.
Luis then pointed to the main pulley.
"If you want to test a simple hypothesis…"
Rafael leaned in to listen.
Luis continued.
"We can check the alignment with a long ruler or a stretched string between the pulleys."
He added:
"If there is any misalignment, even a small one, the belt will tend to slip off during movement."
Rafael remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he smiled.
"That… makes a lot of sense."
He looked again at the machine.
"I'll test that today."
Miguel looked at Luis with obvious surprise.
Augusto was also observing his son with quiet interest.
Luis, however, simply kept looking at the mechanism.
Thinking.
Perhaps that estate had more room for new ideas than anyone there imagined.