tautness

Braceway was amazed by the intensity of Bristow's glance, the tautness of his body, the harsh authority in his voice.

Dalgetty, poised in a nervous tautness that could explode into physical strength, felt a clutch of fear.

The stranger was a large schooner, and the tautness of the spars and rigging showed that she was in beautiful order.

She had the same appearance now as then, the same tautness of body, the same flat, constrained tone.

Their faces held a quiet tautness, and General Ohlmsted's hand, holding a cigar, was shaking a little.