...
    my $value = "";
    open FH, "<", $$self or croak "file error: $!";
    while (<FH>)
    {
        if (/^([a-z]+):\s*(.+)$/)
        {
            if ($key eq $1)
            {
                $value = $2;
                last;
            }
        }
    }
    close FH;
    return $value;
...