diff --git a/testcurl.sh b/testcurl.sh
index 2bb207382..c27f0e316 100755
--- a/testcurl.sh
+++ b/testcurl.sh
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@ cvsup() {
 
   # return (1 - RETURNVALUE) so that errors return 0 while goodness
   # returns 1
-  return `expr 1 - $?`
+  return `expr 1 - $cvsstat`
 }
 
 att="0"