diff --git a/ZString.cpp b/ZString.cpp
index b9a0e58..9585b6f 100644
--- a/ZString.cpp
+++ b/ZString.cpp
@@ -561,9 +561,11 @@ namespace coreutils {
       return *this;
    }
    
-   void ZString::nextChar() {
-      if(!eod())
-	++cursor;
+   char ZString::nextChar() {
+      char temp = 0;
+      if(!eod()) 
+	temp = *cursor++;
+      return temp;
    }
 
 }
diff --git a/ZString.h b/ZString.h
index c5b5c80..c844540 100644
--- a/ZString.h
+++ b/ZString.h
@@ -419,10 +419,11 @@ namespace coreutils {
       bool ifCRLF();
 
       ///
-      ///
+      /// Returns the character at the cursor and advances the cursor one
+      /// position until end of data.
       ///
       
-      void nextChar();
+      char nextChar();
 
       ///
       ///