diff --git a/include/mapnik/util/conversions.hpp b/include/mapnik/util/conversions.hpp
index 33d5301ea..c71e1d9df 100644
--- a/include/mapnik/util/conversions.hpp
+++ b/include/mapnik/util/conversions.hpp
@@ -43,14 +43,16 @@ MAPNIK_DECL inline bool string2bool(std::string const& value, bool & result)
     if (value == "true") {
         return result = true;
     } else if (value == "false") {
-        return result = false;
+        result = false;
+        return true;
     }
     std::string val(value);
     std::transform(val.begin(), val.end(), val.begin(), ::tolower);
     if (val == "true" || val == "yes" || val == "1" || val == "on") {
         return result = true;
     }
-    return result = false;
+    result = false;
+    return true;
 }
 
 MAPNIK_DECL inline bool string2bool(const char * iter, const char * end, bool & result)