diff --git a/hashcache b/hashcache
index d616b03..b0a3879 100755
--- a/hashcache
+++ b/hashcache
@@ -72,5 +72,9 @@ if [ "$hash" == 'clear' ]; then
 elif [ "$set" ]; then
   _cache "$hash" "$set"
 else
-  _retrieve "$hash"
+  result="$( _retrieve "$hash" "$set" )"
+  echo "$result"
+
+  # exit with negative status if we have no result
+  [ -n "$result" ]
 fi