In the eyes of the Dervishes it was an unpardonable crime to chew the forbidden weed whilst working at the dome of the Mahdi's tomb. Most of the Dervishes worked without pay--"Fi shan Allah" ("For the sake of God"), as they say. A small quantity of dhurra was allowed them; but the masons received pay. Lime was obtained from Omdurman itself. In order to push forward the work, Khalifa Abdullah, accompanied by the two other Khalifas, and all the emirs and judges, went to the river bank and assisted to carry the stones to the dome. Of course the whole town followed them. Abdullah put a great stone on his shoulder and marched off with it. The others all followed his example; and in this way it took no time to bring up all the stones required. The Khalifa promised the Mahdi's blessing to all who assisted in this work; and he solemnly assured the labourers that they should be possessors of as many palaces in paradise as stones which they carried to the dome. The women carried the water required for the work. The tomb is built much in the same style as all Mohammedan domes erected to the memory of some holy sheikh. Several of the domes in the Sudan are made of clay; but the Khalifa had determined that the Mahdi's dome should be the grandest in the Sudan. The mud hut in which the Mahdi had died was pulled down, and a square structure about thirty feet high built round the spot, with large windows. Above this superstructure rose the dome some eighty feet above the ground. The foundations were laid very deep, and the walls were immensely thick. On the four corners of the superstructure, and just where the dome begins, are four round balls supported on four small pillars. On the summit of the dome are three large balls, the centre one being the largest; and above these again is a gigantic gilt spear-head resting on the balls. The doorway is really a work of art which does credit to Sudanese labour. It is painted in bright colours, and was made in the arsenal at Khartum; and when it was finished, Yakub, the Khalifa's brother, himself went to fetch it, and rewarded handsomely the men entrusted with the work. The outside walls of the building are white. At first they attempted to paint the tomb with oil-colours; but as they were not properly prepared, the paint soon peeled off when it was dry, and so they had to be content with simple whitewash. The fanatics said that there had been some evil Christian substance mixed with the paint, which prevented it sticking; and by its falling off, it proved that it was not acceptable to the Mahdi.