diff --git a/src/save.c b/src/save.c
index 6820b4699..4666ae707 100644
--- a/src/save.c
+++ b/src/save.c
@@ -352,6 +352,10 @@ register int fd, mode;
 		uball->nobj = uchain;
 		uchain->nobj = (struct obj *)0;
 		saveobjchn(fd, uball, mode);
+	} else {
+		int minusone = -1;
+		if (perform_bwrite(mode))
+		    bwrite(fd, (genericptr_t) &minusone, sizeof(int));
 	}
 
 	saveobjchn(fd, migrating_objs, mode);