The Bear, Pages 218 - 244 Summary

The men and the now sixteen-year-old boy—whose name is finally revealed to be "Ike" in this chapter—continue their annual attempts to take down the bear. Failure, it seems, is inevitable, despite Lion's heroics. The men are bored on one trip, and perhaps a bit discouraged, and take to drinking whiskey to pass the time. When they run out, they send Boon and Ike to go get some more. (Ike's role in the trip, the narrator explains, is to make sure Boon does not drink everything he buys before he gets back.) The whiskey run is successful, though during the trip Ike acts very coldly towards Boon, whom he does not seem to respect a great deal.

They go out again to hunt Old Ben. As always, Lion is the dog who is hottest...