diff --git a/internal/news/nntpd/range_test.go b/internal/news/nntpd/range_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7cd35bf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/news/nntpd/range_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+package nntpd
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestParseRangeSingleArticle(t *testing.T) {
+	low, high := parseRange("5")
+	if low != 5 || high != 5 {
+		t.Fatalf(`parseRange("5") = %d, %d; want 5, 5`, low, high)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/news/nntpd/server.go b/internal/news/nntpd/server.go
index 2c58d6a..1156c52 100644
--- a/internal/news/nntpd/server.go
+++ b/internal/news/nntpd/server.go
@@ -170,8 +170,9 @@ func parseRange(spec string) (low, high int64) {
 		h, err := strconv.ParseInt(parts[0], 10, 64)
 		if err != nil {
 			h = math.MaxInt64
+			return 0, h
 		}
-		return 0, h
+		return h, h
 	}
 	l, _ := strconv.ParseInt(parts[0], 10, 64)
 	h, err := strconv.ParseInt(parts[1], 10, 64)