Mr. Hubert. And that you were not in excess of 3 feet from him?
Mr. Smith. Right.
Mr. Hubert. Your face and his face were not separated by more than 3 feet at that point?
Mr. Smith. That is true.
Mr. Hubert. You heard him say, “Have they brought down Oswald yet?”
Mr. Smith. “Have they brought Oswald down?” Yes, sir.
Mr. Hubert. Did anyone answer him?
Mr. Smith. I did. I don’t know how to explain it. You see, my first reaction was one of a joke, you know. Here we were all sitting around here for days waiting for this news story to develop, and a man asks you have they brought Oswald down yet, and to me I am thinking if they had brought him down and taken him to the county building, why would we be here? And I started my answer like, “What do you think?” And then he repeated his question again, “Have they brought him down?” And he didn’t call his name the second time, like it was understood.
Mr. Hubert. In other words, he really asked twice? The first time he used Oswald’s name and the second time he referred to him by the use of the pronoun “him,” and the second time you told him, “No”?
Mr. Smith. I said, “No, sir; they haven’t brought him down, or we wouldn’t still be sitting here.” And he just turned and walked away.