Object files automatically deleted by pattern rule

[Adam Lichtl]

Hello,

I have a simple Makefile which builds an executable using a pattern 
rule.  When the target it built, make automatically removes the object 
files generated during the build process.  How can I stop this?  I've 
played around with having multiple targets and objects, and this 
behavior is robust.  Also, changing the $(RM) variable has no effect.

Here is a sample Makefile which reproduces the problem:
-----------
all : hello.x

%.x: %.o
        gcc $< -o $@

%.o: %.c
        gcc -c $<
-----------

And the output:
--------------
gcc -c hello.c
gcc hello.o -o hello.x
rm hello.o
--------------

If I use the following Makefile instead:
-----------
hello.x: hello.o
        gcc $< -o $@

%.o: %.c
        gcc -c $<
-----------

Then I get:
-----------
gcc -c hello.c
gcc hello.o -o hello.x
-----------

What gives?

Any help would be appreciated.  I am using GNU Make 3.81.

Thanks,
-Adam