Index: BooleanQuery.java
===================================================================
--- BooleanQuery.java	(revision 165147)
+++ BooleanQuery.java	(working copy)
@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@
   
   /** The maximum number of clauses permitted. Default value is 1024.
    * Use the <code>org.apache.lucene.maxClauseCount</code> system property
-   * to override.
+   * to override. If a failure to get the system property occurs, perhaps because
+   * Lucene is being used in an unsigned applet, use the default.
    * <p>TermQuery clauses are generated from for example prefix queries and
    * fuzzy queries. Each TermQuery needs some buffer space during search,
    * so this parameter indirectly controls the maximum buffer requirements for
@@ -43,9 +44,14 @@
    * {@link org.apache.lucene.store.MMapDirectory} the buffering is left to
    * the operating system.
    */
-  public static int maxClauseCount =
-    Integer.parseInt(System.getProperty("org.apache.lucene.maxClauseCount",
-      "1024"));
+  public static int maxClauseCount;
+	static {
+		try {
+			maxClauseCount = Integer.parseInt(System.getProperty("org.apache.lucene.maxClauseCount", "1024"));
+		} catch ( Exception e ) {
+			maxClauseCount = 1024;
+		}
+	}
 
   /** Thrown when an attempt is made to add more than {@link
    * #getMaxClauseCount()} clauses. This typically happens if