Tension and Rattle

I set down my slender rods and approached the heavy woven storage basket near the wall. Looped around its wooden handle was a broad, flat elastic garment band. Using both hands, I stretched the elastic band downward and hooked its lower loop under the basket's thick cane rim. Trapped behind the band was a dry, hollow wooden button. I pulled the button outward by two centimeters and let go. The band snapped flat against the cane rib, driving the button into a sharp, dry clatter that buzzed crisply before resting dead against the fiber. Mechanical snap, immediate dampening.