diff --git a/pike.c b/pike.c
index cab0eca..adca3e1 100644
--- a/pike.c
+++ b/pike.c
@@ -423,7 +423,7 @@ int re_comp(rcode *prog, const char *re, int nsubs)
 	prog->len = icnt + 2;
 	prog->presub = sizeof(rsub)+(sizeof(char*) * (nsubs + 1) * 2);
 	prog->sub = prog->presub * (prog->len - prog->splits + 4);
-	prog->sparsesz = (scnt - 2) * 2;
+	prog->sparsesz = scnt;
 	return RE_SUCCESS;
 }