What follows is the version of The Golden Band I rewrote in 8th Grade and High School. The manuscript has no format, stops numbering after Chapter Two, and is littered with editorial comments I made to myself for whenever I had time to go back and rewrite THIS version (which I never did). I will do my best to stay as faithful as possible to the original manuscript. Some of the more amusing editorial notes I will include in the Comments section. THIS is the era when I taught myself how to write neatly, specifically for this purpose. And thank goodness. ~AK