Het gestolen kasteel

Summary

After ten years of traveling the seven seas, Floris van Rozenmond returns home with his Indian friend Sindala. He finds his castle occupied by Maarten van Rossum and soldiers from Gelre who are using it to collect toll and taxes. Van Rossum's enemy, Wolter van Oldensteijn breaks into the castle to release a prisoner and Floris and Sindala join him in the fight against Gelre. Sindala decides to remain with Floris in the low countries to help him get his castle back.

Plot

Floris van Rozenmond returns to his home in Holland after 10 years accompanied by his Indian friend Sindala. Sindala comments about how cold it is and Floris clarifies that it is a cold country but worse in the winter. Sindala explains that he will be long gone before winter comes before the two mount their horses and ride on. After riding for a bit they come to an apple tree where Floris had previously carved his name in on the day he left. Floris carves Sindala’s name beneath it whilst Sindala tries some of the apples. Unbeknown to them at first, they are overseen by a soldier on horseback (Sergeant).

The pair carry on their way to Floris’ castle but are ambushed and captured by soldiers led by the Sergeant that they saw earlier. The Sergeant accuses them of trying to doge the toll by avoiding the tollhouse and marches them to it. They are brought before Marteem van Rossum who accuses them of stealing apples and chopping wood as well as avoiding taxes. When he asks Floris about what his business is, Floris tells them who he is and that the castle is his property. Van Rossum then tricks Floris into handing over his papers, which he claims are faked, and has Floris and Sindala taken to the dungeon alleging that they are spies for Wolter van Oldenstein.

After trying to escape Floris and Sindala are beaten up and thrown into the dungeon with a burning torch thrown in after them. The torch begins to set the straw on the floor alight so Sindala grabs the torch and they both stamp the fire out. They then notice a figure in the shadows of a man who is bound and gagged. After removing the man’s gag they discover that he is a mute and then continue to untie him. Elsewhere Van Rossum has gone to the duke, Van Gelre, where he informs him of Floris’ return. It is arranged that Floris will be killed as a spy and his papers will be kept in secret by the duke.

Back in the dungeon Floris and Sindala have released the mute man, although the torch is about to go out. The man turns out to be a magician as he makes candles appear using sleight of hand. Floris asks him to work on the door but the man simple points to a loose stone in the wall by the door. Floris tries to remove it but finds that he cannot get enough purchase on it. Sindala breaks of the leg of a stool, ties a cloth around the end, then wetting it in a puddle he pastes it across the surface of the loose stone creating a vacuum. He then manages to pull the stone out from the wall enough for it to be pulled out by hand. Floris then puts his arm through but finds that he cannot reach the latch.

Outside the castle Van Rossum returns as a man in armour watches from behind a tree. A guard lets Van Rossum in but man in armour burst through the door before it is closed and knocks out both the guard and Van Rossum before running inside the main building. Floris manages to open the door by using the stool leg to push up the latch and the trio escape. As they move upstairs they come across the armoured man fighting the Sergeant and his men. Floris then sneaks up behind the soldiers and knocks them out. The four escape from the castle on horseback after Floris fights three men using double swords.

They arrive at castle with a moat where the armoured man reveals that he is Wolter van Oldenstein. Wolter reveals that there is a war going on between them and the forces of Karel van Gelre. Floris tells Wolter who he is and of his travels oversea from Portugal to Africa and India where he met Sindala. The mute man enters, removes two wigs and is revealed to be Wolter’s best spy and also able to talk. He asks when they will go back to the tollhouse for Floris’ papers, revealing and ingenious way to gain entry using a dagger and six broomsticks handles.

The magician walks into the tollhouse and is stopped by the Sergeant who demands he pays a toll for The Duke of Gelre’s protection against robbers. The Magician shows the Sergeant a little magic before being let in to entertain the soldiers and after being left in a room to prepare he lets down a rope from a window for Floris and Sindala to climb up. The Magician distracts the soldiers with his magic routine whilst Floris and Sindala look for the stolen money and papers. They cannot finds the papers but see the locked chest and start trying to pry it open using a sword.

The Magician tells the soldiers that he can make them rich by making their weapons bejeweled. He demonstrates this with the Sergeant’s dagger by ‘turning it silver’. Floris breaks open the chest to find his money but not his papers then he and Sindala hide as a guard comes in sweeping. The Magician then tells the other soldiers to lay their swords on the table if they want to have them turned to silver as well; they oblige and he covers it with a sheet. Just then the soldier who was sweeping sees the open chest and raises the alarm before being knocked out by Floris.

The soldiers who were watching the magic show go to grab their swords but instead they find that their swords have be ‘turned’ into broomstick handles. The magician nervously backs up as he is confronted by the Sergeant with his silver dagger but is rescued as Floris fights off the soldiers. The Sergeant tries to stab Floris as he wrestles a soldier but Sindala intervenes by chopping him on the back. The three escape from the window with the rope and ride back to Wolter’s castle. As they ride back Floris and Sindala stop because the Magician is far behind and Sindala promises to stay and help until Floris has his papers back. Floris then asks the Magician why he’s taking so long, to which the Magician replies that he isn’t riding very comfortably, opening up his coat to show all the soldiers swords concealed beneath before riding off into the woods.

Cast