State Department instructing consul by wire to take any action necessary to protect American ranchers. W. By eleven o'clock that night he got a message from the consul; and thirty minutes later Bob was speeding toward Tia Juana, a hundred and fifty miles west, to see the Mexican governor. CHAPTER XXVIII Early next morning Rogeen got an interview with the executive of the Mexican province, whom he had never met. The governor received him most courteously and manifested both alert intelligence and a spirit of fairness. During that long night ride Bob had thought out most carefully his exact line of appeal. "Your Excellency," he said, earnestly, "wishes, of course, for the fullest development of the Imperial Valley in Mexico. To that end the ranchers must know they have full protection, not alone for their lives as they now have, but also for their crops. They must know it is profitable to farm in Mexico. I, myself, have five thousand acres of cotton, which will pay in export duties alone perhaps $25,000. Next year I wish to grow much more. Besides, I'm the agent for a very rich man who lends hundreds of thousands of dollars to other ranchers in your province. "But this can continue only if those who do business on your side of the line obey the laws and pay their debts. Such men as Reedy Jenkins must be compelled to deal honestly or get out." The governor agreed to what Rogeen said, and promised to take prompt action. "But," insisted Bob, "to save us, it must be done quickly. Jenkins' cotton must be seized and held for his debts, and the water turned into the canals at once." This was also promised as soon as legal papers could be prepared. In leaving the office Bob dropped the telegram from the consul, accidentally. "It apparently will not be needed," he said to himself as he left the office, "but it won't hurt to lose it." The telegram left in the office read: Present your situation to the governor, and if immediate relief is not given I'll close the border within twenty-four hours so tight that not a man, a mule, nor a machine can cross it either way. LANIER, _Consul._ Two hours later a secretary who spoke good English and a Mexican captain appeared at the Chinese hotel where Bob was waiting. "We have here," the secretary presented Bob with two papers, "an attachment for Senor Jenkins' cotton and an order that the water must be turned into the canals at once, and at the old rate. El Capitan and I will accompany you in the governor's own machine to see these orders are obeyed." Rogeen requested that no message be sent to Mexicali regarding these attachments, as that would give Reedy a chance to dodge. "Can we go back over the Mexican road, and come into the valley round the Laguna Salada?" Bob asked. Reedy might already be rushing his cotton on those trucks down to the waiting boat on the Gulf, and by going this route they would intercept them.