The Octopus by Frank Norris.

Trouble had been brewing in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. The Pacific & Southwestern (P&SW) Railroad and the wheat ranchers who leased the railroad’s adjacent lands are heading for an economic collision. Presley, an Eastern poet visiting the ranch owned by the powerful and prosperous Magnus Derrick family, is caught amid the fierce bickering. As he cycles toward the town of Bonneville, he meets Hooven, a ranch worker who is agitated by the possibility of being fired. Riding on, Presley meets Dyke, who tells of being dismissed and blacklisted by the P&SW. Feeling uninvolved—even superior to these troubles—Presley continues his journey and encounters Annixter, an abrasive rancher who had been angered by the high-handed railroad “octopus,” especially by the agent S. Behrman, who wants to gain control of the thriving wheat fields. The P&SW had, early on, leased its vacant, unproductive adjacent lands to the ranchers with options for them to buy. With rancher investment and toil, the once worthless lands had become golden. The P&SW is now looking for ways to keep the ranchers from winning the deal. Rebellion and warfare are in the air.