for someone who hasn't written a western, you give it a fine go here.

The break neck race to the ford could have been written bny Matthew Reilly! The slow attrition of men and bullets worked well, as did the flanking move.

I read through the story again and still feel the twist at the end comes too far out of left field. If you do a redraft finding a way to salt a hint (apologies if you did and I've totally missed it) as to the woman's real role.

Good work, a fun read