diff --git a/asm/8088/decompress_small.S b/asm/8088/decompress_small.S
index 4ae6a75..3344ce8 100755
--- a/asm/8088/decompress_small.S
+++ b/asm/8088/decompress_small.S
@@ -113,5 +113,5 @@ lzsa_decompress:
 
 .large_varlen:
    lodsw                   ; grab 16-bit extra length
-   mov cx,ax
+   xchg cx,ax
    ret