The conspiracy just doesn't work!

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Starting my millionth re-read oF LR, and got up to Ch 5 "A Conspiracy Unmasked."

It seems that bounum Homerus dormitat. As meticulous as Tolkien was about timing and schedules (He rewrote a huge chunk of Book V just because he thought the Grey Company was riding improbably fast, and I doubt a single reader has ever noticed), here his timeline just doesn't make sense.

Here's what Merry has to say:

‘I kept my knowledge to myself, till this Spring when things got serious. Then we formed our conspiracy; and as we were serious, too, and meant business, we have not been too scrupulous. You are not a very easy nut to crack, and Gandalf is worse. But if you want to be introduced to our chief investigator, I can produce him.’

‘Where is he?’ said Frodo, looking round, as if he expected a masked and sinister figure to come out of a cupboard.

‘Step forward, Sam!’ said Merry; and Sam stood up with a face scarlet up to the ears. ‘Here’s our collector of information! And he collected a lot, I can tell you, before he was finally caught. After which, I may say, he seemed to regard himself as on parole, and dried up.’

And a little further:

We are your friends, Frodo. Anyway: there it is. We know most of what Gandalf has told you. We know a good deal about the Ring.

No freakin' way.

Here's the problem: Gandalf arrived in Hobbiton late on April 12th. His long conversation with Frodo was the following morning: here Frodo learned for the very first time about the Ring, Sauron, etc. And at the end of that conversation Gandalf caught Sam eavesdropping and put the fear of grass-snakes in him.

But we are supposed to believe both that Sam dummied up "on parole," but Merry, Pippin and Fatty also learned the primary topics of that conversation?

Summat doan sum up.