diff --git a/cores/arduino/Stream.h b/cores/arduino/Stream.h
index 58bbf75..007b4bc 100644
--- a/cores/arduino/Stream.h
+++ b/cores/arduino/Stream.h
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ readBytesBetween( pre_string, terminator, buffer, length)
 
 class Stream : public Print
 {
-  private:
+  protected:
     unsigned long _timeout;      // number of milliseconds to wait for the next char before aborting timed read
     unsigned long _startMillis;  // used for timeout measurement
     int timedRead();    // private method to read stream with timeout