After dinner, Tom and Al return to help Floyd. As they talk, groups of men drive into the camp, discouraged and tired from not finding work. A few minutes later, a shiny car drives up. The driver emerges and offers the men jobs picking fruit in Tulare. Floyd responds that when he writes down what the wage will be, signs it, and shows the men his contractor's license, they will sign up for the work. Angry, the contractor and his companion, a deputy, accuse Floyd of breaking into a used car lot and try to arrest him. Floyd strikes the cop and flees the camp. The deputy shoots at him, wounding a nearby woman, and is tripped by Tom. He continues to shoot and is kicked in the neck by Casy, rendering him unconscious. Tom cannot afford to get in trouble with the law because of his parole, so Casy offers to take the blame. Tom hides near the river when the cops return. Casy turns himself in.
As the sun lowers, Al goes in search of Tom, and Ma begins supper. Uncle John tells Ma and Pa that he has sinned by withholding five dollars to get drunk with, but they tell him that this is not a sin since the money is his. Rumor has it that the Hooverville will be burned that night, a common ploy of the local authorities to halt any organizing. When Tom returns from his hiding place, the family collects the drunken Uncle John and decides to go to the government camp at Weedpatch. As the truck leaves camp, they are stopped by cops who instruct them to go north to Tulare. Tom wants to resist, but is restrained by Ma. The strain of being servile is beginning to show on Tom who momentarily sobs. Reasoning that the cops can't tell a person where to go, Tom turns around, cuts through town, and continues south toward Weedpatch. They leave behind the crackling sounds of flames as the Hooverville is destroyed.
