public Reference getObjectReference(Hashtable dictionaryEntries,
                                        String key) {
        if (dictionaryEntries == null) {
            return null;
        }
        Object o = dictionaryEntries.get(key);
        if (o == null)
            return null;
        Reference currentRef = null;
        while (o != null && (o instanceof Reference)) {
            currentRef = (Reference) o;
            o = getObject(currentRef);
        }
        return currentRef;
    }