The shotgun's bark thundered across the tunnel, the muzzle flash suddenly banishing the darkness for a split second. It was a split second but in that one brief moment the enemy was seen: several ragged men in dusty overalls with picks, mattocks and pistols. They added their own chaotic noise and flashes to the chaos. The enemy had the numbers, the defenders could only hope that they could hold out as long as possible until reinforcements arrived.
Mining was always a very delicate undertaking. Even more so when you were digging underneath enemy positions. Things could get even hairier if the enemy knew that you were down there, then they wou