diff --git a/manifests/fragment.pp b/manifests/fragment.pp
index eb225e431..0aa07af51 100644
--- a/manifests/fragment.pp
+++ b/manifests/fragment.pp
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
   }
   if !(is_string($order) or is_integer($order)) {
     fail('$order is not a string or integer.')
-  } elsif $order =~ /[:\n\/]/ {
+  } elsif (is_string($order) and $order =~ /[:\n\/]/) {
     fail("Order cannot contain '/', ':', or '\n'.")
   }
   if $mode {