diff --git a/strace.c b/strace.c
index 3c178ce..40063da 100644
--- a/strace.c
+++ b/strace.c
@@ -419,6 +419,9 @@
 #endif /* MIPS */
 			pause();
 #else /* !SVR4 */
+			if (outf!=stderr)	
+				close(outf);
+
 			if (ptrace(PTRACE_TRACEME, 0, (char *) 1, 0) < 0) {
 				perror("strace: ptrace(PTRACE_TRACEME, ...)");
 				return -1;