diff --git a/feedGnuplot.pl b/feedGnuplot.pl
index 5c5cdd3..9034687 100755
--- a/feedGnuplot.pl
+++ b/feedGnuplot.pl
@@ -169,6 +169,11 @@ GetOptions(\%options,
            'help',
            'dump') or die($usage);
 
+if( defined $options{help} )
+{
+  die($usage);
+}
+
 # set up plotting style
 my $style = '';
 if($options{lines})  { $style .= 'lines';}
@@ -176,12 +181,6 @@ if($options{points}) { $style .= 'points';}
 
 if(!$style) { $style = 'points'; }
 
-if( defined $options{help} )
-{
-  die($usage);
-}
-
-
 # list containing the plot data. Each element is a reference to a list, representing the data for
 # one curve. The first 'point' is a hash describing various curve parameters. The rest are all
 # references to lists of (x,y) tuples