Ballio tells Simo he can rest assured that the twenty minae he bet with Pseudolus are “safe and sound” (1069). When Simo expresses doubt, Ballio tells him that if Pseudolus steals Phoenicium, Ballio will give Simo the twenty minae himself. He also suggests that if Phoenicium has been turned over to Calidorus, Simo can take her for himself. Ballio informs Simo that he met Pseudolus and that Pseudolus insulted him, which he didn’t mind, for not caring about insults makes the insults worthless. When Ballio explains that Pseudolus can’t take Phoenicium because the Macedonian soldier’s slave returned for her, Simo worries that Pseudolus has “put some scheme together” (1096). Ballio says the seal on the letter is proof; Simo says he will prepare to send Pseudolus to the mill. A man in a cloak approaches, and the two men wonder who he is and what he’s doing.

Harpax says he does not associate with the kind of slave who “can’t remember to do his duty without being reminded” (1104) or slaves “who declare themselves free men / The instant they’re out of their masters’ sight” (1105-06).