diff --git a/read.c b/read.c
index b101d384..e232d992 100644
--- a/read.c
+++ b/read.c
@@ -576,7 +576,8 @@ read_makefile (filename, flags)
 	      files = next;
 
 	      if (! read_makefile (name, (RM_INCLUDED | RM_NO_TILDE
-					  | (noerror ? RM_DONTCARE : 0))))
+					  | (noerror ? RM_DONTCARE : 0)))
+		  && ! noerror)
 		makefile_error (filename, lineno,
 				"%s: %s", name, strerror (errno));
 	    }