diff --git a/AppKit/CPTableView.j b/AppKit/CPTableView.j
index 991ad5cf1..1f96b6b5d 100644
--- a/AppKit/CPTableView.j
+++ b/AppKit/CPTableView.j
@@ -1616,11 +1616,11 @@ CPTableViewFirstColumnOnlyAutoresizingStyle = 5;
 
 - (void)noteNumberOfRowsChanged
 {
+    var oldNumberOfRows = _numberOfRows;
+
     _numberOfRows = nil;
     _numberOfRows = [self numberOfRows];
 
-    var oldNumberOfRows = _numberOfRows;
-
     // remove row indexes from the selection if they no longer exist
     var hangingSelections = oldNumberOfRows - _numberOfRows;