diff --git a/libguile/goops.c b/libguile/goops.c
index a470ab65a..485d067a3 100644
--- a/libguile/goops.c
+++ b/libguile/goops.c
@@ -1634,10 +1634,9 @@ scm_sys_invalidate_method_cache_x (SCM gf)
 	SCM_SLOT (SCM_CAR (methods), scm_si_code_table) = SCM_EOL;
     }
   {
-    int n = SCM_INUM (SCM_SLOT (gf, scm_si_n_specialized));
+    SCM n = SCM_SLOT (gf, scm_si_n_specialized);
     /* The sign of n is a flag indicating rest args. */
-    SCM_SET_MCACHE_N_SPECIALIZED (SCM_ENTITY_PROCEDURE (gf),
-				  SCM_MAKINUM (n >= 0 ? n : -n));
+    SCM_SET_MCACHE_N_SPECIALIZED (SCM_ENTITY_PROCEDURE (gf), n);
   }
   return SCM_UNSPECIFIED;
 }