The Rev Ian Paisley emerged from the first day of the Leeds Castle talks proclaiming his commitment to secure "the best possible, fairest deal for all people in Northern Ireland".
The DUP leader combined this positive statement with a broadside against "the treachery, betrayals and concessions" of the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble.
Dr Paisley's tone seemed at least potentially significant, however, as other senior members of the DUP delegation allowed that a surprise deal might just be possible during the negotiations, due to finish at lunchtime tomorrow.
Party sources close to Dr Paisley confirmed that he remained "very sceptical" about Sinn Féin's ability or intention to deliver the disbandment of the Provisional IRA, full decommissioning or the complete end to paramilitary and related criminal activity.
Against that, another leading member of the DUP delegation told The Irish Times that they were receiving strong indications from the British and Irish governments that republicans were "keen to deliver their side of this by the turn of the year".
The source said that "various forms of words" indicating future republican intentions were "in the air" but had not yet been reduced to paper.
When pressed how the DUP might respond if republican assurances proved acceptable, the source said this might facilitate a "Two-Stage Process" involving opening bilateral moves by the British and republicans, with the DUP awaiting reports from the Independent Monitoring Commission and the International Decommissioning Commission before resuming power-sharing devolution some time next year.
Ulster Unionist and Sinn Féin sources last night indicated that there was no possibility of republicans agreeing to any period of "quarantine" or otherwise proceeding to "acts of completion" without prior commitments about the DUP's willingness to share power.
It was observed, however, that this approach would differ from one which established an agreement in principle but then required an agreed transition before full implementation.
In this optimistic context it was also significant that the British government and the DUP last night confirmed that matters outstanding from last year's British/Irish Joint Declaration do not form part of the Leeds Castle agenda, and would not be part of any interim or full agreement.
It is also understood that the Taoiseach rejects the existing DUP proposal that any agreement this weekend would require adjudication from the international bodies on decommissioning and paramilitary activities in six months time before power-sharing could be resumed.
In his only interview of the day, Dr Paisley told Ulster Television he entered the talks "cumbered with the treachery, with the betrayals, the concessions that Mr Trimble has given into in justice, the police, in terrorists getting out of prison".
But he declared: "I have gone in [to Leeds Castle] to do a job that the people have committed me to do. I'm doing that job, and the job will be done.
"Let the people of Northern Ireland, and especially the unionist people, know that their future is in safe hands."