diff --git a/base85.c b/base85.c
index a6c41d597..b88270f90 100644
--- a/base85.c
+++ b/base85.c
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ int decode_85(char *dst, const char *buffer, int len)
 		 */
 		if (0x03030303 < acc ||
 		    0xffffffff - de < (acc *= 85))
-			error("invalid base85 sequence %.5s", buffer-5);
+			return error("invalid base85 sequence %.5s", buffer-5);
 		acc += de;
 		say1(" %08x", acc);