The oldest human document in High Recess was a bill for six pegs.
Pella laid it beneath a sheet of thin glass and moved the lamp until the faded strokes showed. The bill named a carpenter, a household and a delivery of quick-release fittings. One line recorded a roof cloth received in part payment. Another complained that the sixth peg had not arrived with the first five.
Iven liked the writer immediately.
“Did they get it?” he asked.
Pella turned the protecting sheet a fraction. On the back, a smaller hand had written a receipt.
“They did.”
“Good.”
Neri bent close enough to see without breathing on the glass. Beside the bill lay a drawing of the open frame outside. Six feet, separate catches, an exterior release point and a note about lifting the house clear before the carrier’s next departure.
