if (-e $file){
	    my $sb = stat($file) or croak("Could not stat ($file): $!");
	    $atime = $sb->atime;
	    $mtime = $sb->mtime;
	} else {
	    unless ($self->{_no_create}){
		sysopen my $fh,$file,$SYSOPEN_MODE or croak("Can't create $file : $!");
		close $fh or croak("Can't close $file : $!");
		$atime = $time;
		$mtime = $time;
	    }
	}