diff --git a/src/machine/stack.rs b/src/machine/stack.rs
index 73094c3fb..6e85f9489 100644
--- a/src/machine/stack.rs
+++ b/src/machine/stack.rs
@@ -301,6 +301,25 @@ impl Stack {
         }
     }
 
+    /// Reads an [`OrFrame`] placed immediately after [`self.top()`](Self::top).
+    ///
+    /// # Safety
+    ///
+    /// The stack must contain a valid [`OrFrame`] at offset [`self.top()`](Self::top).
+    ///
+    /// No other allocations must have been done since the last call to [`truncate()`](Self::truncate).
+    #[inline(always)]
+    pub(crate) unsafe fn read_dangling_or_frame(&self) -> &OrFrame {
+        unsafe {
+            // SAFETY:
+            // - Assumed: the stack contains a valid `OrFrame` at this offset
+            // - Assumed: no other allocations have been done since the last call to `self.truncate()`
+            // - Postcondition: from `self.buf.truncate`, the pointer `ptr` is not yet invalidated.
+            let ptr = self.buf.get_unchecked(self.top());
+            &*(ptr as *const OrFrame)
+        }
+    }
+
     #[inline(always)]
     pub(crate) fn index_or_frame_mut(&mut self, b: usize) -> &mut OrFrame {
         unsafe {
diff --git a/src/machine/system_calls.rs b/src/machine/system_calls.rs
index 2378dfe2a..dbdf401be 100644
--- a/src/machine/system_calls.rs
+++ b/src/machine/system_calls.rs
@@ -1235,8 +1235,10 @@ impl Machine {
                                 // the last clause of the retract
                                 // helper to delay deallocation of its
                                 // environment frame.
-                                let clause_b = self.machine_st.stack.top();
-                                self.machine_st.stack.index_or_frame(clause_b).prelude.biip as usize
+                                unsafe {
+                                    // TODO: verify that the assumption above always holds
+                                    self.machine_st.stack.read_dangling_or_frame().prelude.biip as usize
+                                }
                             };
 
                             return (
diff --git a/src/raw_block.rs b/src/raw_block.rs
index 43f06f082..cc7f9cfe9 100644
--- a/src/raw_block.rs
+++ b/src/raw_block.rs
@@ -85,12 +85,14 @@ impl<T: RawBlockTraits> RawBlock<T> {
     ///
     /// # Safety
     ///
-    /// The caller must ensure that `offset < self.len()`
+    /// The caller must ensure that `offset` is within a region allocated with [`Self::alloc`].
+    ///
+    /// It must notably ensure that `offset < self.capacity()`.
     pub unsafe fn get_unchecked(&self, offset: usize) -> *const u8 {
         // SAFETY:
         // - Invariant: `self.base + self.size() == self.top` is the top bound of
         //   the allocated region.
-        // - Assumed: `offset < self.len()`
+        // - Assumed: `offset < self.capacity()`
         // Thus `self.base + offset` is within the allocated region.
         self.base.add(offset)
     }
@@ -111,10 +113,12 @@ impl<T: RawBlockTraits> RawBlock<T> {
     ///
     /// # Safety
     ///
-    /// The caller must ensure that `offset < self.len()`
+    /// The caller must ensure that `offset` is within a region allocated with [`Self::alloc`].
+    ///
+    /// It must notably ensure that `offset < self.capacity()`.
     pub unsafe fn get_mut_unchecked(&mut self, offset: usize) -> *mut u8 {
         unsafe {
-            // SAFETY: Assumed: `offset < self.len()`
+            // SAFETY: Assumed.
             self.get_unchecked(offset).cast_mut()
         }
     }