In Two Friends by Guy de Maupassant, the two men wish to go fishing in a warzone and are allowed to do so by the colonel who controls the checkkpoint between the safety of Paris and the warzone outside of it.

An hour later they were walking side by side on the-highroad. Presently they reached the villa occupied by the colonel. He smiled at their request, and granted it. They resumed their walk, furnished with a password.

Knowing full well they might die at the hands of Prussian soldiers, why does the colonel allow them to leave Paris?

In Two Friends by Guy de Maupassant, the two men wish to go fishing in a warzone and are allowed to do so by the colonel who controls the checkpoint between the safety of Paris and the warzone outside of it.

An hour later they were walking side by side on the-highroad. Presently they reached the villa occupied by the colonel. He smiled at their request, and granted it. They resumed their walk, furnished with a password.

The corresponding passage in the French version, "Deux amis" goes as follows:

Une heure après, ils marchaient côte à côte sur la grand'route. Puis ils gagnèrent la villa qu'occupait le colonel. Il sourit de leur demande et consentit à leur fantaisie. Ils se remirent en marche, munis d'un laissez-passer.

Knowing full well they might die at the hands of Prussian soldiers, why does the colonel allow them to leave Paris?