diff --git a/lib/puppet/indirector/exec.rb b/lib/puppet/indirector/exec.rb
index fa789442b..4683eda0f 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/indirector/exec.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/indirector/exec.rb
@@ -1,49 +1,48 @@
 require 'puppet/indirector/terminus'
 require 'puppet/util'
 
 class Puppet::Indirector::Exec < Puppet::Indirector::Terminus
   # Look for external node definitions.
   def find(request)
     # Run the command.
     unless output = query(request.key)
       return nil
     end
 
     # Translate the output to ruby.
     output
   end
 
   private
 
   # Proxy the execution, so it's easier to test.
   def execute(command)
     Puppet::Util.execute(command)
   end
 
   # Call the external command and see if it returns our output.
   def query(name)
     external_command = command
 
     # Make sure it's an arry
     raise Puppet::DevError, "Exec commands must be an array" unless external_command.is_a?(Array)
 
     # Make sure it's fully qualified.
     raise ArgumentError, "You must set the exec parameter to a fully qualified command" unless external_command[0][0] == File::SEPARATOR[0]
 
     # Add our name to it.
     external_command << name
     begin
       output = execute(external_command)
     rescue Puppet::ExecutionFailure => detail
-      Puppet.err "Failed to find #{name} via exec: #{detail}"
-      return nil
+      raise Puppet::Error, "Failed to find #{name} via exec: #{detail}"
     end
 
     if output =~ /\A\s*\Z/ # all whitespace
       Puppet.debug "Empty response for #{name} from exec #{self.name} terminus"
       return nil
     else
       return output
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/unit/indirector/exec_spec.rb b/spec/unit/indirector/exec_spec.rb
index acad1ea93..de37f2775 100755
--- a/spec/unit/indirector/exec_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/indirector/exec_spec.rb
@@ -1,56 +1,55 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env ruby
 
 require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../../spec_helper'
 
 require 'puppet/indirector/exec'
 
 describe Puppet::Indirector::Exec do
   before do
     @indirection = stub 'indirection', :name => :testing
     Puppet::Indirector::Indirection.expects(:instance).with(:testing).returns(@indirection)
     @exec_class = Class.new(Puppet::Indirector::Exec) do
       def self.to_s
         "Testing::Mytype"
       end
 
       attr_accessor :command
     end
 
     @searcher = @exec_class.new
     @searcher.command = ["/echo"]
 
     @request = stub 'request', :key => "foo"
   end
 
   it "should throw an exception if the command is not an array" do
     @searcher.command = "/usr/bin/echo"
     proc { @searcher.find(@request) }.should raise_error(Puppet::DevError)
   end
 
   it "should throw an exception if the command is not fully qualified" do
     @searcher.command = ["mycommand"]
     proc { @searcher.find(@request) }.should raise_error(ArgumentError)
   end
 
   it "should execute the command with the object name as the only argument" do
     @searcher.expects(:execute).with(%w{/echo foo})
     @searcher.find(@request)
   end
 
   it "should return the output of the script" do
     @searcher.expects(:execute).with(%w{/echo foo}).returns("whatever")
     @searcher.find(@request).should == "whatever"
   end
 
   it "should return nil when the command produces no output" do
     @searcher.expects(:execute).with(%w{/echo foo}).returns(nil)
     @searcher.find(@request).should be_nil
   end
 
-  it "should return nil and log an error if there's an execution failure" do
+  it "should raise an exception if there's an execution failure" do
     @searcher.expects(:execute).with(%w{/echo foo}).raises(Puppet::ExecutionFailure.new("message"))
 
-    Puppet.expects(:err)
-    @searcher.find(@request).should be_nil
+    lambda {@searcher.find(@request)}.should raise_exception(Puppet::Error, 'Failed to find foo via exec: message')
   end
 end