vanishing .xac and .log files

[hendrik at topoi.pooq.com]

I just needed to track down some misreconcilation problems, and
discovered that my .xac and .log files from before July 22 have
disappeared?

Now I suppose something weird might have happened; I don't think
I deleteld them myself.

Could gnucash have been deleting them itself?  If so, I don't suppose
it saved them somewhere in compressed form so I can get them back,
but HOW THE HELL DO I STOP THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN?  AND WHY WASN"T
I WARNED?

-- hendrik