--- a/acl.c
+++ b/acl.c
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ static int ACL_init(PyObject* obj, PyObject* args, PyObject *keywds) {
 #ifdef HAVE_LINUX
     static char *kwlist[] = { "file", "fd", "text", "acl", "filedef",
                               "mode", NULL };
     char *format = "|etisO!sH";
-    mode_t mode = 0;
+    unsigned short mode = 0;
 #else
     static char *kwlist[] = { "file", "fd", "text", "acl", "filedef", NULL };
     char *format = "|etisO!s";