Finally the guide's mouth line relaxed from the straight tautness of whatever emotion had caused that stiffening of posture, and the lips moved in low speech-almost drawlingly soft of cadence.
"The Tempering"
Charles Neville Buck
First, the hammock must be slung with just the right amount of tautness; then, the novice must master the knack of winding himself in his blanket that he may slide gently into his aerial bed and rest at right angles to the tied ends, thus permitting the free side-meshes to curl up naturally over his feet and head.
"Edge of the Jungle"
William Beebe
To me, strung up to a tautness of sensation that almost frightens me, this silence of the Mate is horrible.
"An Ocean Tramp"
William McFee