diff --git a/src/os_win32.c b/src/os_win32.c
index fff3f84..4feb697 100644
--- a/src/os_win32.c
+++ b/src/os_win32.c
@@ -2960,7 +2960,7 @@
     int		n;
 
     n = mch_stat(name, &st);
-    return n == 0 ? (long)st.st_mode : -1L;
+    return n == 0 ? (long)(unsigned short)st.st_mode : -1L;
 }