diff --git a/scp.c b/scp.c
index 392f2728..38d1f568 100644
--- a/scp.c
+++ b/scp.c
@@ -11554,7 +11554,7 @@ return newp;
 static void displayMagicTopic (FILE *st, DEVICE *dptr, TOPIC *topic)
 {
 char tbuf[CBUFSIZE];
-size_t i, skiplines;
+size_t i, skiplines = 0;
 #ifdef _WIN32
 FILE *tmp;
 char *tmpnam;