diff --git a/t/nothing.od b/t/nothing.od
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6661249
--- /dev/null
+++ b/t/nothing.od
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+# this shell script contains no commands.
+# it's used for testing the return value of '. ./nothing.od' in shelltest.od.
diff --git a/t/shelltest.od b/t/shelltest.od
index 9e3ded3..c97fa62 100644
--- a/t/shelltest.od
+++ b/t/shelltest.od
@@ -280,5 +280,13 @@ lt
 [ "$x" = "1" ] || fail 112
 [ "$y$z" = "67" ] || fail 113
 
+# reported by Tim Allen:
+# some shells don't return 0 from an empty '.' script; they return the
+# previous command's exit code instead.
+# See:
+#  http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/utilities/dot.html
+#  http://austingroupbugs.net/view.php?id=114
+false
+. ./nothing.od || warn 114
 
 exit $FAIL