diff --git a/src/truetype/ttgload.c b/src/truetype/ttgload.c
index a341c83a6..11968f6fd 100644
--- a/src/truetype/ttgload.c
+++ b/src/truetype/ttgload.c
@@ -1902,7 +1902,7 @@
       /* clear the nodes filled by sibling chains */
       node = ft_list_get_node_at( &loader->composites, recurse_count );
       for ( node2 = node; node2; node2 = node2->next )
-        node2->data = (void*)FT_ULONG_MAX;
+        node2->data = (void*)-1;
 
       /* check whether we already have a composite glyph with this index */
       if ( FT_List_Find( &loader->composites,