diff --git a/sent.c b/sent.c
index 0da2bff..c50a572 100644
--- a/sent.c
+++ b/sent.c
@@ -457,6 +457,9 @@ load(FILE *fp)
 		if (!p)
 			break;
 	}
+
+	if (!slidecount)
+		die("sent: No slides in file");
 }
 
 void
@@ -695,9 +698,6 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	load(fp);
 	fclose(fp);
 
-	if (!slidecount)
-		usage();
-
 	xinit();
 	run();