The Red Foe

"The Hut in the Forest" by Seelin Robins (1870) is a frontier romance set in July 1794 during General Wayne's Indian campaign. The narrative centers on Lucy Heywood, daughter of a deceased Colonel, who lives with her mother and querulous Aunt Jellaby in a wilderness homestead. The vain and self-interested Captain Bobston, ostensibly recovering from a riding injury, remains as a houseguest while secretly shirking military duty to court Lucy. When Lucy expresses concern for his welfare, he initially feigns serious injury but reveals his reluctance to leave her. The story builds tension through frontier anxieties: the previous year's burning of the block-house killed four enslaved people, leaving the household vulnerable. As the narrative climaxes, two enslaved men, Pharaoh and Peter, arrive on horseback in panic, reporting Indians approaching—prompting Captain Bobston's frantic alarm and the women's contrasting stoicism.