Cotton Pickers Wanted said the signs along the road. People appeared, ready to work. They picked the cotton and put it into large bags. If they did not have a bag, they had to buy one for a dollar. When a bag broke, they sewed up the open end. When both ends broke, they used the cloth to make clothes.

The bags full of cotton were weighed. Sometimes, the scales cheated the cotton pickers of money. Sometimes, the cotton pickers put rocks in the bags to make them heavier. The cotton pickers and the scale man always argued, always fought.

The cars moved into the cotton fields and the cotton camps were set up. The boxcars, twelve of them, stood end to end on a little flat area near the stream. They had large sliding doors but no windows. The Joads shared an end car with the Wainwrights, so Ma hung a large blanket across the middle of the boxcar. The cotton pickers worked quickly until dark each day. They knew the work would soon end.

Ma came into the boxcar carrying a large bag full of food. Rosasharn sat on a box beside the stove. "Did you get milk?" the girl demanded.

"Yeah, right here," Ma said. "Are the potatoes ready?"

"Yeah, Ma."

"Well, we're going to have pork tonight," Ma said with a smile on her face.

Uncle John and Pa and Al came in. Winfield followed behind. "Ma," Winfield said. "Ma, Ruthie told."

"Told what."

"About Tom."

Ma stared at Winfield. "What did she say?"

"She only told a little. A big girl took her candy and Ruthie tried to get it back and they got into a fight. And the big girl said that she was going to get her big brother. And Ruthie said she was going to get her big brother who was hiding because he killed a man."

"Oh!" Ma said. "Oh! Dear God." She looked at Winfield and said, "You go get Ruthie. Pa, you stay here, and I'll take Tom some food and tell him what's happened."

"All right," Pa agreed.

Ma quickly put some food in a bowl and covered it with a towel. She stepped out of the boxcar and moved proudly down the line of tents and cars. She stepped in among the tall grass and bushes along the stream until she found the cave where Tom was hiding. "Tom," she called.

"Is that you, Ma?"

"Yeah, right over here. I have to talk to you, Tom."

"You have to come in so no one sees you."

She lowered her head and went into the cave. It was dark and she could not see Tom's face. But she knew that he was near. She placed the food down and soon she could hear him chewing. "Ruthie told about you, Tom."

"What? Why did she do that?"