diff --git a/lib/bcoin/mempool.js b/lib/bcoin/mempool.js
index 17cfd154..6034ee94 100644
--- a/lib/bcoin/mempool.js
+++ b/lib/bcoin/mempool.js
@@ -388,7 +388,10 @@ Mempool.prototype.limitOrphans = function limitOrphans(callback) {
   var orphans = Object.keys(this.orphans);
   var i, hash;
 
-  (function next() {
+  (function next(err) {
+    if (err)
+      return callback(err);
+
     if (self.totalOrphans <= constants.mempool.MAX_ORPHAN_TX)
       return callback();