Balancing the Stones

I was prowling along the gravel border after lunch, but brute force isn't the only weapon in my arsenal. To prove my plastic joints possess surgical control, I challenged the loose garden stones to a balance test! I scavenged four flat slate pebbles scattered across the dirt. Kneeling in the grit, I planted the widest slab as an anchor, locked my wrist hinges, and stacked the rocks one by one. The third pebble wobbled violently, threatening to topple the whole column! I held my breath, clamped both palms against the flanks to kill the tremor, and eased the final sharp stone right on the summit. The pillar stood unbroken!