diff --git a/src/modal.c b/src/modal.c
index fa408d2..5e17697 100644
--- a/src/modal.c
+++ b/src/modal.c
@@ -178,12 +178,12 @@ parse_rulefrag(char *line)
 static int
 parse_line(char *line)
 {
+	char c;
 	if(line[0] == 0) return 1;
 	if(line[0] == '<' && line[1] == '>')
 		return !!addrule(line);
-	while((*prog_++ = *line++))
-		;
-	*prog_++ = 0xa;
+	while((c = *line++))
+		*prog_++ = c;
 	return 1;
 }