Mrs. PAINE. Yes.
Representative FORD. It puzzles me that he went into the bus station
and bought two tickets, one for himself and one for her.
Mrs. PAINE. How would she get there?
Representative FORD. Well, eventually she might have to go by bus. But
why should he at this time make an investment in a bus ticket when
there was no certainty----
Mrs. PAINE. Oh, yes.
Representative FORD. When she might follow? This is what puzzles me.
Mrs. PAINE. Yes. Well, I can only guess about this. I judge from his
having done this that he certainly intended for her to follow, and it
is also possible she couldn't have asked for a bus ticket herself.
If he had written her and said, "Don't come to New Orleans, come to
Nashville," and he had said, "That is where I have got my job," he
might have felt she would not know how to go and get such a bus ticket.
Mr. DULLES. Is it also possible he may not have wanted to leave that
amount of money with her to buy a ticket and preferred to leave her a
ticket rather than cash?
Mrs. PAINE. This is possible, this is possible.
Mr. JENNER. All right.
Now, Mrs. Paine, in light of that speculation, tell us what discussion
there was on the subject.
Mrs. PAINE. I think I have, that while he was in the bus station I
thought how difficult it would be for her to travel alone with the
baby, and all the things----
Mr. JENNER. And you raised that yourself for the first time at that
point?
Mrs. PAINE. Then I said she might stay with me while waiting to hear
from him, and that I would drive her down if we did hear that he had
gotten work.
Mr. JENNER. Had there been prior discussion that it was contemplated
that, if he obtained a position, she would join him in New Orleans, or
wherever he obtained a position.
Mrs. PAINE. Yes. We had already talked about that at the apartment.
Mr. JENNER. And that had been discussed with her present?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes.
Mr. JENNER. And discussed in Russian so that she could have understood
the discussion?
Mrs. PAINE. To the best of my recollection, yes.
Mr. JENNER. Now, Mrs. Paine, the staff is interested in Lee Harvey
Oswald's luggage.
Mrs. PAINE. What?
Mr. JENNER. His luggage.
Mrs. PAINE. Luggage.
Mr. JENNER. Would you please, to the best of your recollection, tell us
what pieces of luggage he had on that occasion, what they looked like,
their shape and form?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes. He had two large marine duffelbags with his name on
them, and probably his Marine serial number. It was marked with a good
deal of white paint. It stood quite high.
Mr. JENNER. Were they up-ended when you say high? You mean standing on
end, they were high?
Mrs. PAINE. Standing on their end they would come well above this table.
Mr. JENNER. I see. About 40 inches?
Mrs. PAINE. Something like that; I would guess so.
Mr. JENNER. Excuse me, I am interested in just that. Would you go over
to the drawing board and move your hand, judge from the floor, and stop
right there? We will measure that later.
Mrs. PAINE. Understand I saw those two later in my garage.
Mr. JENNER. I understand, and I will get to that. That is just about 45
inches, and there were two of them?
Mrs. PAINE. There were two of them. Do you want anything about the rest
of the luggage? Does that interest you the most?
Mr. JENNER. Yes, I am interested, and I would like to stick with
the duffelbags for a moment. Was there any appearance as to either
duffelbag, which, to you, would indicate some long, slim, hard----
Mrs. PAINE. I assume them to be both full of clothes, very rounded.
Mr. JENNER. I don't wish to be persistent, but was there anything that
you saw about the duffelbags that lead you at that time to even think
for an instant that there was anything long, slim and hard like a pole?
Mrs. PAINE. No.
Mr. JENNER. Or a gun, a rifle?
Mrs. PAINE. No.
Mr. JENNER. No? Nothing?
Mrs. PAINE. Nothing. I did not move these bags.
Mr. JENNER. To the extent you saw them is all I am inquiring about. You
did not touch them, you did not lift them, but you saw them.
Mrs. PAINE. I did.
Mr. JENNER. There appeared--the entire circumference of these bags
which you could see was smooth?
Mrs. PAINE. Well, smooth, bumpy, but irregular.
Mr. JENNER. But no stick, no hard surface. Now, what about the diameter
of these bags, these duffelbags, what would you say it was?
Mrs. PAINE. About like this, 15, 18, 20 inches across.
Mr. JENNER. Eighteen, twenty inches across?
Mrs. PAINE. Probably more than that.
Mr. JENNER. This is 15 inches.
Mrs. PAINE. About like this; a little more than 15, probably.
Mr. JENNER. About 18 inches. Now, how many pieces of luggage in
addition to the two duffelbags?
Mrs. PAINE. Quite a few. There were probably three suitcases.
Mr. JENNER. Three suitcases?
Mrs. PAINE. Or more. A small radio bought in Russia.
Mr. JENNER. I want to stick with the luggage.
Mrs. PAINE. All right.
Mr. JENNER. Three suitcases?
Mrs. PAINE. I think so, two or three, and a large softsided suitcase, I
don't know what to call it. It zips around the side.
Mr. JENNER. Zipper case?
Mrs. PAINE. Yes, made of canvas.
Mr. JENNER. We would like to have you describe that zipper case.