diff --git a/src/include/buffer.h b/src/include/buffer.h
index 1c941db15ce..80599c9b258 100644
--- a/src/include/buffer.h
+++ b/src/include/buffer.h
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@ namespace buffer CEPH_BUFFER_API {
       return begin();
     }
     const_iterator begin_deep(size_t offset=0) const {
-      return const_iterator(this, 0, true);
+      return const_iterator(this, offset, true);
     }
 
     // misc