diff --git a/classpath/java-lang.cpp b/classpath/java-lang.cpp
index 5fd06cc8fe..8825b8ffa3 100644
--- a/classpath/java-lang.cpp
+++ b/classpath/java-lang.cpp
@@ -267,7 +267,7 @@ Java_java_lang_Runtime_exec(JNIEnv* e, jclass,
     
     // Error if here
     char c = errno;
-    write(msg[1], &c, 1);
+    ssize_t rv UNUSED = write(msg[1], &c, 1);
     exit(127);
   } break;