The effort to give the farmer his cue was futile.
Looking at his wife as though he thought she had gone crazy, Ephraim Prior said nothing.
But Higgins was not so dull.
Divining that the words had been inspired by the man they sought, his doubt as to who 'Howard' was vanished instantly and he coolly retorted:
"If your husband were as clever as you, Mrs. Prior, your bluff might have worked. But he isn't, so you might as well let us search your house.
"We know Jesse James is inside it and we're going to find him!"
Feigning amazement at the declaration, the woman brought all her resourcefulness to bear to gain time till her daughter's return should announce that the outlaws were concealed, demanding his grounds for his suspicions and pronouncing it an outrage that Susie could not make a visit without being suspected of coming to meet her wicked brothers.
But her persistency only confirmed the detectives' belief that their quarry was scurrying to cover in the house.
With a clever change in tactics, Jones purred: