The Notched Runner

I steered down the porch ramp and rolled across the flagstone patio toward the low frame of a wooden deck chair. Down near the pavers, its rear support leg rested in a notched beechwood adjuster rack. I pulled alongside, cutting my glide until my front tire nudged the timber rail. Leaning low over the handlebars, I wedged the firm tip of my wing beneath the horizontal steel locking bar. With a measured upward lift, the crossbar slipped free of its groove, slid half an inch along the channel, and seated into the next notch with a crisp, hollow thud. The canvas above gave a faint, taut creak.