Read the following extract and answer it:
"I waited outside until the boys rejoined me,then drove them back to the city.They sat beside me,not speaking. For my part ,I didn't say a word. I knew that they would prefer that they had safely kept their secret.

i)Who are the boys?
ii) Why didn't the speaker say a word?
iii) What does the word 'prefer' mean here?  

Dear Student,
Given below is the answer to your question.

1. The boys refer to Nicola and Jacopo.
2. The speaker did not say a word because he had just learned about the life and story of the two boys. His assumption of the two boys were much different from the reality and he was surprised after hearing about it. The boys were ignorant of the fact that the speaker had learnt about them and therefore, he decided to say quiet about it.
3. The word 'prefer' here is synonymous to 'hope' and it was this hope that the boys had, that their story and secret was intact.

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