int parseMnemonics(char[] buffer, int start, int end, StringBuffer result) { int mnemonic = -1, index = start; while (index < end) { if (buffer[index] == '&') { if (index + 1 < end && buffer[index + 1] == '&') { result.append(buffer[index]); index++; } else { mnemonic = result.length(); } } else { result.append(buffer[index]); } index++; } return mnemonic; }