diff --git a/hub/upstream.test.ts b/hub/upstream.test.ts
index 75fccd4..2dc6e09 100644
--- a/hub/upstream.test.ts
+++ b/hub/upstream.test.ts
@@ -33,9 +33,36 @@ describe('Upstream', () => {
     const up = new Upstream(config, hang, () => now)
     await expect(up.call(server, 'x')).rejects.toThrow('timed out after 20 ms')
     await expect(up.call(server, 'y')).rejects.toThrow('timed out')
-    expect(calls).toBe(1)
+    // Two: the read and its second try.
+    expect(calls).toBe(2)
     now = 11_000
     await expect(up.call(server, 'y')).rejects.toThrow('timed out')
+    expect(calls).toBe(4)
+  })
+
+  it('asks a slow read again and takes the answer that comes first', async () => {
+    let calls = 0
+    const up = new Upstream(config, ((_url: string, init: RequestInit) => {
+      calls++
+      if (calls > 1) return Promise.resolve(ok())
+      return new Promise((_resolve, reject) => init.signal?.addEventListener('abort', () => reject(Object.assign(new Error('aborted'), { name: 'AbortError' }))))
+    }) as unknown as typeof fetch)
+    await expect(up.call(server, 'x')).resolves.toEqual({ n: 1 })
     expect(calls).toBe(2)
   })
+
+  it('serves the last good answer for two minutes when the server stops answering', async () => {
+    let now = 0
+    let fail = false
+    const up = new Upstream(config, (async () => {
+      if (fail) throw new Error('ECONNRESET')
+      return ok()
+    }) as typeof fetch, () => now)
+    await up.call(server, 'x')
+    fail = true
+    now = 60_000
+    await expect(up.call(server, 'x')).resolves.toEqual({ n: 1 })
+    now = 140_000
+    await expect(up.call(server, 'x')).rejects.toThrow('ECONNRESET')
+  })
 })
diff --git a/hub/upstream.ts b/hub/upstream.ts
index 9971e0e..fb62682 100644
--- a/hub/upstream.ts
+++ b/hub/upstream.ts
@@ -43,6 +43,12 @@ const WRITE_TIMEOUT_MS = 60_000
 /* How long reads of a server that timed out fail at once (the console polls every few seconds). */
 const DOWN_MS = 10_000
 
+/* How long a read may wait before it is asked again alongside. */
+const HEDGE_MS = 2500
+
+/* How long past its time a cached answer still stands in for a server that does not answer. */
+const STALE_MS = 120_000
+
 export class Upstream {
   #config: HubConfig
   #fetch: typeof fetch
@@ -64,13 +70,18 @@ export class Upstream {
     const hit = this.#cache.get(key)
     if (hit !== undefined && hit.until > this.#now()) return hit.response
     // A server that just timed out fails again at once, rather than holding every read for the whole timeout.
+    // The last good answer, kept a little past its time: it stands in when the server does not answer.
+    const stale = hit !== undefined && hit.until + STALE_MS > this.#now() ? hit : undefined
     const down = this.#down.get(server.id)
-    if (down !== undefined && down.until > this.#now()) throw down.error
+    if (down !== undefined && down.until > this.#now()) {
+      if (stale !== undefined) return stale.response
+      throw down.error
+    }
     // The same read already on its way (the sidebar, the page and a panel ask together) is shared.
     const pending = this.#pending.get(key)
     if (pending !== undefined) return pending
 
-    const call = this.#exec(server, path, new URLSearchParams(sorted), token, { method: 'GET' }, this.#config.timeoutMs).then(
+    const call = this.#read(server, path, new URLSearchParams(sorted), token).then(
       (response) => {
         this.#down.delete(server.id)
         if (this.#config.cacheSeconds > 0) {
@@ -81,6 +92,7 @@ export class Upstream {
       },
       (e: unknown) => {
         if (e instanceof UpstreamError && e.message.startsWith('timed out')) this.#down.set(server.id, { until: this.#now() + DOWN_MS, error: e })
+        if (stale !== undefined && e instanceof UpstreamError && e.kind === 'unreachable') return stale.response
         throw e
       },
     )
@@ -92,6 +104,36 @@ export class Upstream {
     }
   }
 
+  /*
+  One read, asked a second time when the first is slow to answer: a request can stall on its own
+  (a lost packet, a TLS handshake that hangs) while the server is fine, and a fresh one then answers
+  at once. Whichever answers first wins; the first one's error is the error when both fail.
+  shortcut: the losing request is left to finish or time out by itself, abort it if reads get heavy.
+  */
+  #read(server: HubServer, path: string, query: URLSearchParams, token: string): Promise<unknown> {
+    const total = this.#config.timeoutMs
+    const wait = Math.min(HEDGE_MS, total / 3)
+    const first = this.#exec(server, path, new URLSearchParams(query), token, { method: 'GET' }, total)
+    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      let second: Promise<unknown> | undefined
+      const timer = setTimeout(() => {
+        second = this.#exec(server, path, new URLSearchParams(query), token, { method: 'GET' }, total - wait)
+        second.then(resolve, () => {})
+      }, wait)
+      first.then(
+        (r) => {
+          clearTimeout(timer)
+          resolve(r)
+        },
+        (e: unknown) => {
+          clearTimeout(timer)
+          if (second === undefined) reject(e)
+          else second.then(resolve, () => reject(e))
+        },
+      )
+    })
+  }
+
   /*
   A write: POST with the server's ADMIN token and never the read one, never cached. Whatever
   the outcome, what the hub remembers of this server is dropped afterwards, so the next read