(tested in Pike 7.8.350). Shouldn't the last line be "right:4"? We seem to be missing an opportunity for optimization here.
The `+ operator prefers `+() to ``+() when both are available. Note though that even if ``+() had been called the result would've been "right:1", since the arguments to ``+() are supposed to be evaluated left-recursively (ie a typical implementation may call predef::`+() on the arguments to contract them).