Rankin. Was there anything else close to the rifle that you recall?
Mrs. Oswald. Next to it there were some—next to the rifle there were some suitcases and Ruth had some paper barrels in the garage where the kids used to play.
Mr. Rankin. The way the rifle was wrapped with a blanket, could you tell whether or not the rifle had been removed and the blanket just left there at any time?
Mrs. Oswald. It always had the appearance of having something inside of it. But I only looked at it really once, and I was always sure the rifle was in it. Therefore, it is very hard to determine when the rifle was taken. I only assumed that it was on Thursday, because Lee had arrived so unexpectedly for some reason.
Mr. Rankin. Did you believe that the reason for his coming out to see you Thursday was to make up?
Mrs. Oswald. I think there were two reasons. One was to make up with me, and the other to take the rifle. This is—this, of course, is not irreconcilable.
Mr. Rankin. But you think he came to take the rifle because of what you learned since. Is that it?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, of course.
Mr. Rankin. Before this incident about the fictitious name, were you and your husband getting along quite well?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Did he seem to like his job at the depository?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, because it was not dirty work.
Mr. Rankin. Had he talked about getting any other job?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes. When he went to answer some ads, he preferred to get some work connected with photography rather than this work. He liked this work relatively speaking—he liked it. But, of course, he wanted to get something better.
Mr. Rankin. Did you like the photographic work?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes. It was interesting for him. When he would see his work in the newspaper he would always point it out.
Mr. Rankin. He had a reference in his notebook to the word "Microdot". Do you know what he meant by that?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. How did your husband get along with Mrs. Paine?
Mrs. Oswald. He was polite to her, as an acquaintance would be, but he didn't like her. He told me that he detested her—a tall and stupid woman. She is, of course, not too smart, but most people aren't.
Mr. Rankin. Did he ever say anything to indicate he thought Mrs. Paine was coming between him and you?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did Mrs. Paine say anything about your husband?
Mrs. Oswald. She didn't say anything bad. I don't know what she thought. But she didn't say anything bad.
Perhaps she didn't like something about him, but she didn't tell me. She didn't want to hurt me by saying anything.
Mr. Rankin. I have understood from your testimony that you did not really care to go to Russia but your husband was the one that was urging that, and that is why you requested the visa, is that correct?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. And later he talked about not only you and your child going, but also his going with you, is that right?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know what caused him to make that change?
Mrs. Oswald. At one time—I don't remember whether he was working at that time or not—he was very sad and upset. He was sitting and writing something in his notebook. I asked him what he was writing and he said, "It would be better if I go with you."
Then he went into the kitchen and he sat there in the dark, and when I came in I saw that he was crying. I didn't know why. But, of course, when a man is crying it is not a very pleasant thing, and I didn't start to question him about why.
Mr. Rankin. Did he say to you that he didn't want you to leave him alone?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Did you at that time say anything to him about your all staying in this country and getting along together?
Mrs. Oswald. I told him, of course, that it would be better for us to stay here. But if it was very difficult for him and if he was always worried about tomorrow, then perhaps it would be better if we went.
Mr. Rankin. On the evening of the 21st, was anything said about curtain rods or his taking curtain rods to town the following day?
Mrs. Oswald. No, I didn't have any.
Mr. Rankin. He didn't say anything like that?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did you discuss the weekend that was coming up?
Mrs. Oswald. He said that he probably would not come on Friday, and he didn't come—he was in jail.
Mr. Rankin. Did the quarrel that you had at that time seem to cause him to be more disturbed than usual?
Mrs. Oswald. No, not particularly. At least he didn't talk about that quarrel when he came. Usually he would remember about what happened. This time he didn't blame me for anything, didn't ask me any questions, just wanted to make up.
Mr. Rankin. I understood that when you didn't make up he was quite disturbed and you were still angry, is that right?
Mrs. Oswald. I wasn't really very angry. I, of course, wanted to make up with him. But I gave the appearance of being very angry. I was smiling inside, but I had a serious expression on my face.
Mr. Rankin. And as a result of that, did he seem to be more disturbed than usual?
Mrs. Oswald. As always, as usual. Perhaps a little more. At least when he went to bed he was very upset.
Mr. Rankin. Do you think that had anything to do with the assassination the next day?
Mrs. Oswald. Perhaps he was thinking about all of that. I don't think that he was asleep. Because, in the morning when the alarm clock went off he hadn't woken up as usual before the alarm went off, and I thought that he probably had fallen asleep very late. At least then I didn't think about it. Now I think so.
Mr. Rankin. When he said he would not be home that Friday evening, did you ask him why?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. What did he say?
Mrs. Oswald. He said that since he was home on Thursday, that it wouldn't make any sense to come again on Friday, that he would come for the weekend.
Mr. Rankin. Did that cause you to think that he had any special plans to do anything?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Did you usually keep a wallet with money in it at the
