CHAPTER XVI – Tom Swift and His Elec­tric Loco­mo­tive opens with Tom con­fronting the betray­al of Joe Myrick, whose under­cov­er sab­o­tage attempt near­ly derailed the entire elec­tric loco­mo­tive ven­ture. Myrick, caught with explo­sives and iden­ti­fied as a rogue ele­ment from the Blatz Detec­tive Agency, leaves behind a lin­ger­ing sense of mis­trust. Though Blatz insists the sab­o­tage was unau­tho­rized, Tom remains cau­tious. Rather than dwell on the decep­tion, he focus­es on the path for­ward. His deci­sion to trans­port the Her­cules 0001 to Hen­drick­ton for final tri­als marks a turn­ing point. Every pre­cau­tion is taken—security isn’t just advised, it’s enforced. Tom arranges for Koku, his loy­al and phys­i­cal­ly impos­ing assis­tant, to accom­pa­ny the engine and act as a liv­ing safe­guard dur­ing its rail jour­ney west.

Locked inside the cab with food, water, and a cot, Koku serves as an unarmed sen­tinel whose sheer pres­ence deters inter­fer­ence. Tom’s choice not to arm him speaks to both trust and restraint. He knows Koku’s strength alone makes con­fronta­tion unlike­ly. While prepar­ing the train for depar­ture, Tom bal­ances prac­ti­cal logis­tics with emo­tion­al farewells. Mary Nestor, always com­posed, reveals her con­cern for Tom’s safe­ty. Though reas­sured by the prepa­ra­tions, she knows the threat isn’t imag­ined. Tom reminds her that Mr. Damon will join them soon and that Koku’s watch­ful eye pro­vides more pro­tec­tion than any weapon. His father, Bar­ton Swift, offers qui­et encour­age­ment, sig­nal­ing sup­port not just for the trip but for the broad­er vision Tom has embraced—one where elec­tric loco­mo­tion leads a new indus­tri­al era.

The nar­ra­tive deep­ens as Tom and Ned board the train, their depar­ture marked by a mix of resolve and unease. Tom’s thoughts shift toward Andy O’Malley, the elu­sive antag­o­nist linked to pri­or sab­o­tage. While Tom doesn’t fear O’Malley’s direct con­fronta­tion, he’s aware that the man rep­re­sents some­thing larg­er: cal­cu­lat­ed oppo­si­tion dri­ven by indus­tri­al rival­ry. For Tom, the true dan­ger lies in the shad­owy tac­tics used to crip­ple progress from the side­lines. This is why the jour­ney west feels like enter­ing con­test­ed ground. Every mile of track might bring them clos­er to success—or sab­o­tage. As they depart, Tom receives a telegram from an ear­li­er sta­tion con­firm­ing that the Her­cules 0001 has safe­ly reached its first stop with Koku still on watch. That brief note affirms the plan is work­ing. But it also hints that the dan­ger isn’t over—it’s sim­ply trav­el­ing with them.

Onboard, the atmos­phere is one of cau­tious opti­mism. Tom and Ned dis­cuss the upcom­ing tests, aware that this phase will prove whether the Her­cules can live up to expec­ta­tions set by rail exec­u­tives and skep­tics alike. The stakes are not just personal—they are indus­tri­al. If the loco­mo­tive per­forms well, it may change the way freight and pas­sen­gers move across the coun­try. If it fails, it risks being dis­missed as a nov­el­ty. Tom’s vision is expan­sive, but he tem­pers enthu­si­asm with real­ism. His method­i­cal nature keeps him ground­ed. Each com­po­nent of the Her­cules has been test­ed, but real-world tri­als offer no mar­gin for error. And beyond the phys­i­cal mechan­ics, there is always the pos­si­bil­i­ty of inter­fer­ence. The lessons of Joe Myrick and ear­li­er threats have made vig­i­lance part of the rou­tine.

As night falls on the mov­ing train, Tom reflects not just on inno­va­tion, but on trust. He’s learned that every inven­tion must be protected—not just from nature or fail­ure, but from peo­ple. And while Koku guards the Her­cules, Tom’s mind guards its future. He men­tal­ly rehears­es the test sched­ule, con­sid­ers improve­ments to the com­mu­ni­ca­tion sys­tems, and runs through pro­to­cols for emer­gen­cies. These thoughts are not born from para­noia, but from expe­ri­ence. Progress demands plan­ning. And for Tom Swift, progress is more than motion—it’s a respon­si­bil­i­ty.

This chap­ter con­cludes with a blend of move­ment and resolve. The train push­es west, the Her­cules rides ahead under watch­ful eyes, and Tom stands at the inter­sec­tion of ambi­tion and adver­si­ty. His deter­mi­na­tion is clear: no sab­o­tage, no betray­al, and no delay will keep him from see­ing his vision brought to life on the rails of a coun­try ready for change.