Easy. Oswald already had prepared were he would hide the rifle just like he prepared the SN. In fact, that may have been the place were Oswald had hidden the rifle wrapped in the paper bag. Now, a lot is being made about how Boone described the area were he found the rifle but the following part of Boone's testimony is being ignored;
Mr. BALL - What happened then?
Mr. BOONE - Some of the other officers came over to look at it. I told them to stand back, not to get around close, they might want to take prints of some of the boxes, and not touch the rifle. And at that time Captain Fritz and an ID man came over. I believe the ID man's name was Lieutenant Day--I am not sure. They came over and the weapon was photographed as it lay. And at that time Captain Fritz picked it up by the strap, and it was removed from the place where it was. (Here, Boone's memory failed him as it was Day who picked up the rifle by the strap)
Mr. BALL - You saw them take the photograph?
Mr. BOONE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - Were you alone at that time?
Mr. BOONE - There was an Officer Weitzman, I believe. He is a deputy constable.
Mr. BALL - Where was the rifle located on the floor, general location?
Mr. BOONE - Well, it was almost--the stairwell is in the corner of the building, something like this, and there is a wall coming up here, making one side of the stairwell with the building acting as the other two sides. And from that, it was almost directly in front or about 8 feet south, I guess, it would be, from that partition wall that made up the stairwell.
Mr. BALL - The rifle was about 3 feet from the--
Mr. BOONE - Yes, sir; behind a row of boxes. There was a row of boxes that came across there. Then the rifle was behind that first row of boxes.
Mr. BALL - I show you 514. Is that the way it looked when you saw it?
Mr. BOONE - Yes.
Mr. BALL - Is that the way it was when the picture was taken?
Mr. BOONE - Yes; I believe so.
Mr. BALL - This shows the rifle as you saw it, does it?
Mr. BOONE - That is right. Then you could kneel down over here and see that it had a scope, a telescopic sight on it, by looking down underneath the boxes.
Boone looked underneath the boxes. It's entirely possible that Boone indivertibly moved the box directly above the rifle. That would explain the position of the box covering more of the rifle when he first saw the rifle. When Day and Studebaker arrived to take the photos that's the position of the boxes as they found them. As can be noticed Ball asked Boone three times if CE-514 accurately portrayed the scene as he found it. I think Ball might have been trying to get Boone to admit he might have moved the box but Boone kind off (Boone - Yes; I believe so) recognized that and stuck to the description of CE-514. Boone testifies to admonishing others to stand back and to not touch the boxes and the rifle in order to keep the area undisturbed after he had just done that himself.
Your description of how Boone found the boxes does not correlate with Boone's testimony. Boone " caught a glimpse of the rifle, stuffed down between two rows of boxes with another box or so pulled over the top of it." and not "a tiny portion of the BUTT ( not the muzzle as seen in the photo) of the rifle." and " the rifle was completely covered by the boxes that formed the roof of the cavern"(Cakebread fabrication # ?).
Thank you so much for posting this:... Boone's description of the location where the rifle was laying on the floor....
Mr. BOONE - Well, it was almost--the stairwell is in the corner of the building, something like this, and there is a wall coming up here, making one side of the stairwell with the building acting as the other two sides. And from that, it was almost directly in front or about 8 feet south, I guess, it would be, from that partition wall that made up the stairwell.
Let's parse that description.....He's talking about a wall ( partition) that forms the east side of the stairway ( The stairway was in the NW corner, and the West, and North, brick walls of the building formed the North and West walls of the stairway)
The measurement of 8 feet that Boone refers to is from the south end of that partition. IOW...The rifle was laying on the floor ( at the bottom of an enclosed cavern of books) 8 feet south of the south end of the partition that formed the east wall of the stairway.
There was a row of boxes of books stacked about three feet south of the south end that partition... This row of boxes formed the South side of the aisle that was at the top of the stairs .... That aisle was about three feet wide. So according to Boone's observation , the rifle was laying on the floor about 5 feet south of that row of boxes. The fake photos that were created by the DPD show the rifle against the south side of the row of boxes that formed the E/W wall of the aisle that Lee allegedly dashed through as he ran by the area.
Boone said the rifle was about eight feet south of the partition,or five feet south of the aisle.... ( And Detective Studebaker drew a map in which he gives a distance that corroborates Boone's estimate)
Question....Is it possible for a 5' 9" man to reach across a four foot high stack of boxes and lay an 8 pound rifle on the floor in a cave that was five feet away?