"In "The Train Job" Jayne says he didn't fight in the war. I just wanted to know why not?

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“Jayne! Jayne Cobb.” The breathless voice stopped him. “You sure can move fast boy” the preacher panted.

“I’m in a hurry to get home,” the boy grinned at him.

“Well I won’t keep you. I would just like to know how your granddaddy is today.”

The preacher berated himself when Jayne’s expression changed from happy boy to careworn man. The boy, and despite his size, that’s all he was, had too many cares for a grown man, let alone a seventeen year old boy.

“Coughs worse and he’s gettin’ real feeble”. Jayne had stopped hopin’ more years ago than he could count that his granddaddy was goin’ to get better.

Preacher Roberts was lookin’ at him again like he expected somethin’ more. “Pa’s still the same” he offered.

“Jayne,” preacher put a hand on his arm “we had church supper last night. If you’re not too proud to accept them, I’d like to give you the leftovers.”

He waited for the explosive reaction that he felt sure was coming. The boy’s parents were death on accepting charity. Never mind that Jayne was killing himself trying to provide for them all.

No they couldn’t accept charity, but they’d let the boy do most of the work on the farm, then work all day at the mine. The preacher knew that the money Jayne earned just scratched the surface of what he was paying out. Recently he had started fighting for money. His size and the good training his grandfather had given him made the boy the best fighter around. Lately he had been putting that to use at the bars in the surrounding villages.

Jayne knew his parents wouldn’t like him acceptin’ the food. They didn’t want to admit they needed help, but he was goin’ to. He already had nine mouths includin’ hisself to feed, medicine to pay for, and here was Ma, pregnant again.

“Yeah, I’ll take it.” He could see he’d surprised the hell out of the preacher who was smilin’ all over his face.

“Excellent.”

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