We've reached the concluding episode of the first of our Tales for Our Time, and in the waning days of Founder Membership for The Mark Steyn Club: If you'd like to become a Founding Member, you have until this coming Wednesday, May 31st, to do so. We have fun in our little club, as I hope we've demonstrated during our nightly adventure serial. The Tragedy of the Korosko was written by Conan Doyle 120 years ago. Much of what he has to say is timelier than ever - but one is aware too of how some things have changed, on both sides. In the final part of our story, Colonel Cochrane salutes a brutal but worthy enemy:
The camels of the Dervishes had all knelt down simultaneously, and the men had sprung from their backs. In front of them was a tall, stately figure, who could only be the Emir Wad Ibrahim. They saw him kneel for an instant in prayer. Then he rose, and taking something from his saddle he placed it very deliberately upon the sand and stood upon it.
"Good man!" cried the Colonel. "He is standing upon his sheepskin."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Stuart.
"Every Arab has a sheepskin upon his saddle. When he recognises that his position is perfectly hopeless, and yet is determined to fight to the death, he takes his sheepskin off and stands upon it until he dies. See, they are all upon their sheepskins. They will neither give nor take quarter now."
In the present struggle, when the enemy stands upon his sheepskin, it's only because he's turned it into a suicide bomb.
If you're a Founding Member of The Mark Steyn Club you can hear the final episode of The Tragedy of the Korosko simply by clicking here and logging-in. All previous episodes can be found here down the page and in reverse order.
Thank you so much for your enthusiastic welcome for this first Tale for Our Time. It means a lot to me. In June, The Mark Steyn Club will be presenting our second audio serialization - a very different kind of story, but equally relevant to our own age.
This series is a modest benefit of Founder Membership. Being a Founding Member of The Mark Steyn Club is not for everyone, but it helps ensure that our content remains available for everyone - print, audio, video, around the world. Remember, Founder Membership is only available for a few more days - until Wednesday May 31st. So, if you're minded to give it a go, don't leave it too late. Aside from Tales for Our Time, being a Founding Member does come with other benefits:
~A free personally autographed book or CD
~Exclusive Steyn Store member pricing
~The chance to engage in live Q&A sessions with yours truly
~Transcript and audio versions of our video content
~My new quarterly newsletter The Clubbable Steyn, the first issue of which ships next month
~Comment Club privileges
~Advance booking for my live appearances around the world
~Customized email alerts for new content in your areas of interest
~and the opportunity to support our print, audio and video ventures as they wing their way around the world.
To become a Founding Member of The Mark Steyn Club, or to sign up a friend, please click here.
