Tension in the Wire

I stepped out from beneath the underpass toward a squat, sun-warmed signal hut beside the tracks. A taut steel guy-wire ran diagonally from a wooden relay pole down into a rusty anchor peg in the dirt. I stood completely still, letting the distant hum of the switching yard fade into the breeze. Reaching out with my heavy squared fist, I gave the thick braided cable a firm, downward tug and released it. The wire whipped back with a sharp, twanging buzz that sung down through the anchor, shuddering the loose ballast gravel right beneath my feet. I pressed my flat palm against the tension clamp to catch the ringing vibration.