diff --git a/nsqd/channel.go b/nsqd/channel.go
index 5503b0af9..37e272c34 100644
--- a/nsqd/channel.go
+++ b/nsqd/channel.go
@@ -436,9 +436,10 @@ func (c *Channel) RemoveClient(clientID int64) {
 
 	c.Lock()
 	delete(c.clients, clientID)
+	numClients := len(c.clients)
 	c.Unlock()
 
-	if len(c.clients) == 0 && c.ephemeral {
+	if numClients == 0 && c.ephemeral {
 		go c.deleter.Do(func() { c.deleteCallback(c) })
 	}
 }