Marley's Warning and Prophecy

Marley's Ghost explains that he is doomed to wander the earth, witnessing what he cannot share, because his spirit never walked beyond the narrow limits of their money-changing hole in life. He tells Scrooge that he wears the chain he forged in life, link by link, and that Scrooge's own chain is even longer and heavier. The Ghost warns Scrooge that he has a chance and hope of escaping his fate, but only through the visitation of Three Spirits. The first will come the next night when the bell tolls One, the second the next night at the same hour, and the third upon the next night when the last stroke of Twelve has ceased to vibrate.