Despite the good conditions in the government camp, the family has been unable to find work in the nearby area for a month. With money running out and Winfield ill they decide to drive out again in search of work. On the highway they meet a businessman who tells them there is work in the north picking peaches. They head there and are escorted onto a ranch, past groups of angry protestors. Their accommodation on the ranch is a small, dirty room with no windows and an old stove, along a row of similar rooms. The whole family works all day but only manages to make a dollar. When Ma goes to the shop on the ranch to buy food with this, all the prices are inflated.

In the evening, Tom goes to see what the protestors are doing outside. There he meets Casy again who explains that they are on strike. This is because they were promised five cents for picking a box of peaches, but this was cut to two and a half cents when they got there. Policemen chase Casy and Tom, and they try to escape. However, They are caught, and Casy tells his assailant, “You’re helpin’ to starve kids” (404).