One o'clock
said the prisoners , as they passed into the `` House of Pain . '' One old woman went on her knees to the soldiers and begged them to have pity on the people . `` They are your brothers , my sons , '' she cried . One o'clock struck . The streets were still dark , but a searchlight from Monte Mario was sweeping over the city like a flash of a supernatural eye . With tottering limbs and his head on his breast , David Rossi was walking down the Via due Macelli towards the column of the Immaculate Conception , when a young girl spoke to him . `` Honourable , '' she said , `` is it true that the little boy is dead ?