Edward Dugan left his home in Boston with a bequest from his father--mining certificates giving him ownership of the Christabel mine. Although they have a face value of 250,000 dollars, the mine has been declared worthless. However, Henry Christian, the man who originally sold the mining stock to Dugan's father, has offered to buy back the stock certificates for 1,500 dollars. Since he has no money, Dugan decides to walk the 3,000 miles to Potts Valley in the Southwest to check out the offer. On the way, he picks up the nickname Slope.
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