Trees blown over in a storm two years ago are still lying on Štrachovec hill. The wood is cut up for lumber by only a small group of people using primitive methods without any machinery. Even though wood is needed for the local cooperative farm, the nearby stone quarry and for the construction of the dam, no-one is willing to release people to help save it before it rots. Neither has anything been done about the transportation of the wood to the sawmill which lies down river. A few old rafters live in the nearby village of Kameničky who, however, have not floated wood down the river for years. Old Váňa takes the initiative. He convinces his former colleagues and representatives of various organizations that they have to get the wood to the sawmill before the river freezes or before a flood carries it away in the spring. A cable for the wood's transportation is rigged up in the forest and the tree trunks are tied to the rafts. But there is not enough water in the river. Old Váňa finally arranges with the dam administrator in the hills that water will be gradually let into the river, and the job is successfully completed.
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