--- a/mercurial/sshrepo.py
+++ b/mercurial/sshrepo.py
@@ -130,4 +130,7 @@ class sshrepository(remoterepository):
self.readerr()
l = int(self.pipei.readline())
- return self.pipei.read(l) != ""
+ r = self.pipei.read(l)
+ if not r:
+ return 1
+ return int(r)