diff --git a/mnists/__init__.py b/mnists/__init__.py
index 1d26272..e0a4fe8 100644
--- a/mnists/__init__.py
+++ b/mnists/__init__.py
@@ -162,17 +162,13 @@ def prepare(dataset="mnist", return_floats=True, return_onehot=True,
     prefix, names = meta[0], meta[1:]
     names = [os.path.join(prefix, name) for name in names]
     train_images, train_labels, test_images, test_labels = names
-    images_and_labels = names
 
     logger.debug("Filenames chosen for %s: %s, %s, %s, %s",
                  dataset, train_images, train_labels, test_images, test_labels)
 
     make_directories()
 
-    existing = [os.path.isfile(construct_path(name)) for name in names]
-    gz_existing = existing[0], existing[1:]
-
-    for name in images_and_labels:
+    for name in names:
         download(name)
         if check_integrity:
             validate(name)