The Cossacks decide to send a messenger to Nizhny Novgorod to Pozharsky. Stepa is trying to complete the well and simultaneously learns the Cossack craft. At this time, the dwarf Cossack Irgai reports that the neighboring village has again encroached on their harvest. Stepa suggests solving the problem not by war, but by sports, teaching Cossacks football. After the match, escaping from drunken Cossacks, Stepan runs away into the forest, where he stumbles upon Crimeans who kidnapped Govor.

Stepa tells the Cossacks that he found the Crimeans who kidnapped Govor, but the Cossacks with a hangover are not able to go camping. Stepa, with the help of "modern anti-hopping procedures," quickly puts the Cossacks on their feet and organizes a campaign against the Crimeans. The Cossacks take them by surprise, but immediately find out that they do not have a dialect - the Crimeans sold it to the Poles. In parallel, Lukyan completes the well and Stepa, saying goodbye to friends, dives into it.

Stepa learns that because of him, his direct ancestor, Yesaul, is in danger, and therefore the entire Steppe family. The Cossacks receive a dispatch from Pozharsky and decide not to go to the aid of the militia, and Stepa is thrown into a pit because of a dispute with Nazar. Ataman Markov announces the wedding of his daughter Alyonka with the Cossack Nazar.