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Drilling, pumping and praying

'Engineering hope'

Spectators look over the rescue operation at the Quecreek mine in Somerset, Pennsylvania, Friday.

SOMERSET, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- It's a gray, drizzly morning in Somerset.

Late last night in this corner of rugged southwest Pennsylvania, it was easier to hope for a miracle; today, with the rain and the broken drill bit, it's more difficult. To avoid thinking about dead miners, people are talking about air pockets and the mysterious contours of an underground mine.

They're engineering hope, figuring out a way that this story could still have a happy ending.

"If they are going to get those guys out, they're going to have to put an air lock on that shaft before they break through," says Jim Richardson, 65, as he finishes up his scrambled eggs at the Summit Diner on North Center Avenue.

CNN NewsPass Video    •  CNN's Jeff Flock visits an abandoned Pa. mine   •  Surveyor used GPS to locate miners   •  Rescued miners go home   •  Miners express appreciation  MORE STORIES   •  Pennsylvania panel to explore mining accident   •  Flooded mine could be idle for months   •  Pa. governor: Mine's operator 'owes answers'   •  A turning point in the rescue effort   •  Miners braved harrowing conditions   •  Previous mining accidents were minor » Story archive  RESOURCES   •  Jeff Goodell: Despair turns to joy   •  Gov. Schweiker: Mine probe to seek answers   •  Rescued miner: 'It was a team effort'   •  Why we burn coal  EXTRA INFORMATION   •  Gallery: The rescued miners   •  Gallery: Rescue quotes   •  Graphic: Diagram of the Quecreek Mine   •  Map: Mining accident   •  Timeline: What happened, and when

Richardson is a big, florid man, a retired mining engineer who worked in the anthracite coal region of eastern Pennsylvania for more than 20 years, and happened to be in town visiting relatives when the disaster hit.

"Otherwise, as soon as they open the shaft up, whatever air is in there is going to rush out, and the miners are going to drown."

"How the hell are they going to do that?" asks Tom Wheeler, an old friend of Richardson whose father worked in the Saxony Mine that caused the flood.

Wheeler is a thin guy in an orange-striped T-shirt. He has an old tattoo on his forearm -- it's so faded that it's impossible to tell whether it was once the face of a beautiful woman or a devil.

"It's going to be tricky," Richardson says.

"Sure as hell is," Wheeler says.

A harsh town

The waitress approaches, refills their coffee.

"I'm worried about them freezing down there," she says. "The papers say the water down there is 55 degrees, and you can only survive for a few hours."

"That's why we think they found an air pocket," Richardson says.

"Lord, I hope so," the waitress says.

Outside, big rigs rumble by. There's been an accident on the turnpike this morning, and the trucks are jamming into town, looking for a detour. This is a harsh town, where good fortune means new tires for your 4-by-4, and the presence of so many big rigs just underscores the roughness of it all.

"What about the breathers they wear?" the waitress asks.

"They're no good under water," Richardson says. "Besides, they only last for an hour."

She shakes her head, summing up the tragedy of the whole thing in a single gesture, then moves on.

Richardson lifts up the local newspaper, the Daily American, and reads the front page in silence. "Coal miners face their worst nightmare," a headline announces. He scans the paper for a few minutes. "Drilling, pumping and praying," Richardson says aloud.

"What's that?" Wheeler asks.

"It's what the guy at the mine says they're doing up on the hill right now," Richardson says.

Wheeler gulps the last of his coffee.

"It's about all they can do, ain't it?"

Jeff Goodell is the author of "Sunnyvale: The Rise and Fall of a Silicon Valley Family." He is working on a book about coal and energy in the United States.